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Kidnapped Australian Doctor Released From 7-Year Captivity in West Africa

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Kenneth Elliott, an 88-year-old Australian doctor who was abducted in January 2016 by a group believed to have links to a terrorist unit in West Africa, has been released after over seven years in captivity, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Friday.
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"I am very pleased to advise that Dr Kenneth Elliott has been released after more than seven years in captivity in West Africa. Dr Elliott is safe and well and has been reunited with his wife Jocelyn and their children," Wong tweeted.
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Elliott and his spouse were kidnapped in mid-January in 2016 in northern Burkina Faso near the country's border with Mali. The al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb terrorist group* claimed responsibility for the abduction. Elliott's wife was released a month later.
"We wish to express our thanks to God and all who have continued to pray for us," the Australian family said in a statement. "We also continue to pray for those still held and wish them freedom and safe return to their loved ones."
*banned in Russia and many other countries