Free Republic

Houthi rebels have taken at least four Americans hostage in Yemen, The Washington Post reported Saturday. According to the report, three of the hostages were working in the private sector. The fourth is a dual citizen of Yemen and the US, whose job is unknown. An unnamed US official in the report said that a number of rescues operation have been attempted and failed.

The rebel group that has seized power in Yemen has taken at least four U.S. citizens prisoner, according to U.S. officials who said that efforts to secure the Americans’ release have faltered. One of the prisoners had been cleared for release in recent days only to have that decision reversed by members of the Houthi rebellion that toppled the U.S.-backed government earlier this year and now controls most levers of power in Yemen.

WASHINGTON – A former Pakistani spy master with links to the Taliban claims that al-Qaeda has captured American prisoners in eastern Afghanistan, forcing U.S. troops to end the siege of their stronghold and withdraw. U.S. officials say the claim is false. Talking to United Press International from his home in Islamabad, Gen. Hamid Gul, the former chief of Pakistan's main spy agency, Inter Services Intelligence, said the United States sent "some Americans to Shahikot, dressed as Afghans." Shahikot is the mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan where U.S. forces and their Afghan allies taking part in Operation Anaconda have been bombing...