U.S. Diplomat Freed by Captors in Yemen

Kidnaped American diplomat Haynes Mahoney was freed by his Yemeni captors Wednesday after six days in captivity.

Mahoney was en route to Sana, the capital, from the kidnapers’ desert stronghold near the Saudi border Wednesday evening, Interior Minister Yahya Mutawakel said.

U.S. Information Service spokesman Rick Roberts confirmed that Mahoney had been freed. Mahoney, 44, USIS chief in Yemen, was not expected to reach Sana until today, Roberts said.

Roberts said the kidnapers had negotiated with the Yemeni government for Mahoney’s release and had placed no demands on the U.S. government.

The tribe that took Mahoney captive Thanksgiving Day had demanded back pay for discharged officers, rental fees for an oil-pumping station in the tribe’s territory and development plans for the region.

The interior minister declined to give any details on the agreement to release Mahoney. He would not say whether the government had made any concessions to the kidnappers.