88-year-old Australian doctor freed 7 years after kidnapping by Islamic extremists in West Africa

By ROD McGUIRK
Associated Press

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — An 88-year-old Australian doctor held captive by Islamic extremists in West Africa for more than seven years has been freed. Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Friday that Kenneth Elliott has reunited with his wife and their children in Australia. His family thanked the Australian government and others who worked to free him. The circumstances of his release were not disclosed. Elliott and his wife were kidnapped in 2016 in Burkina Faso, where they had run a medical clinic for four decades. Jocelyn Elliott was released three weeks later. The militant group behind the kidnapping, Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, rose to prominence in large part through ransom kidnappings of foreigners.