British Hostage Released in Yemen UAE SF Operation

[Frogman]

British hostage released in Yemen

A British national being held in Yemen has been released following a military operation, the Foreign Office has announced.

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said the hostage had been freed by forces from the United Arab Emirates.

The hostage, who has not been officially named, is now "safe and well" and receiving support from British officials, Mr Hammond said.

"We are very grateful for the assistance of the UAE," he added.

Yemen has seen conflicts between several different groups in recent months, pushing the country "to the edge of civil war", according to the UN's special adviser.

The main fight is between forces loyal to the President, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, and those allied to Zaidi Shia rebels known as Houthis, who forced Mr Hadi to flee the capital Sanaa in February.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has also staged numerous deadly attacks from its strongholds in the south and south-east of the country.

British hostage released in Yemen, Foreign Office says - BBC News

 

[Al Bhatti]

August 23, 2015

Fighters gather on a road leading to Yemen's Abyan province on August 8, 2015.

Britain’s foreign secretary, Philip Hammond, arrives in Tehran, Iran, on August 23, 2015.

UAE forces free Al Qaida’s hostage in Yemen
British national Robert Douglas Semple rescued from Al Qaida after being held hostage in Yemen since 2014

UAE forces have freed Al Qaida’s British hostage Robert Douglas Semple in Yemen, according to reports on Sunday.

Semple, 64, was working as a petroleum engineer in the Hadramaut area when he was kidnapped in February, 2014 by the terrorist group.

His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, informed British Prime Minister David Cameron that UAE Armed Forces freed Semple during a military intelligence operation.

Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed said that UAE forces operating in Aden reached the location in Yemen where the British national had been kidnapped by Al Qaida and then freed him, taking him to Aden from where he was flown on a UAE military aircraft to Abu Dhabi.

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, who arrived in Iran on Sunday, confirmed that the Briton has been released.

Hammond, who is in the Iranian capital of Tehran to reopen the British embassy, said: “I’m pleased to confirm that a British hostage held in Yemen has been extracted by UAE forces in a military intelligence operation."

“The British national is safe and well and is receiving support from British government officials. We are very grateful for the assistance of the UAE,” he said.

Semple arrives in UAE

On arrival in Abu Dhabi, Semple was received at the airport by UAE officials and the British ambassador. He was immediately taken to a hospital for a health check.

UAE authorities also arranged for Semple to speak with his wife by telephone to inform her that he had been rescued and was safe.

Semple will leave the UAE for the UK after all necessary medical checks and treatments have been completed.

UAE’s support hailed

In Cairo, ambassador Mohammad Al Haisami, Permanent Representative of Yemen to the Arab League, praised the UAE’s leadership, government and people for their unwavering support to Yemen.

He added that the people of Yemen will remember and cherish the support of those who back them during these critical circumstances engulfing Yemen.

Al Haisami told the Emirates News Agency (WAM) in a statement on Sunday: “We are proud of the ranking of the UAE as the world’s top provider of humanitarian aid to Yemen.” UAE ranked high in reports of Financial Tracking Service, an organisation that tracks global humanitarian aid flow and managed by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Al Haisami commended the high level of relations between the UAE and Yemen, and said that the latter looks forward to a new phase of security, peace and reconstruction. He added that the UAE would have a lion’s share in rebuilding the new Yemen.

He extended heartfelt condolences and solace to the UAE families whose sons died in the battlefield while defending the legitimacy of Yemen.

UAE forces free Al Qaida’s hostage in Yemen | GulfNews.com

 

[Al Bhatti]

August 25, 2015

British former hostage Bob Semple and his wife Sallie following his release from captivity in Yemen. A British man held for more than a year by Al-Qaeda in Yemen arrived home Tuesday, declaring himself "incredibly grateful" to the United Arab Emirates forces who rescued him.

Freed British hostage thanks UAE
Douglas Robert Semple, 64, who was kidnapped by Al Qaida in February 2014, returns to UK

A British petroleum engineer freed in a UAE military intelligence mission from his Al Qaida captors is one grateful expatriate after landing both feet firmly back on the ground in the United Kingdom.

Douglas Robert Semple, 64, who was kidnapped by Al Qaida in February 2014 while working in the Hadramaut area of Yemen, was bursting with gratitude on Tuesday.

His return marked the end of an 18-month hostage taking for the oil worker.

“I am delighted and relieved to be back home safely and to be reunited with my family after such a long time,” Semple said in a statement issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).

A long list of players made his release, return to the UAE and eventual journey home possible, he said.

“My wife Sallie and I want to thank all the people who supported us through this ordeal, especially the Foreign Office, Hostage UK, the police, our family, friends and well wishers, and the UAE forces who secured my release. We are incredibly grateful to you all,” Semple said.

“We would also like to thank the media for showing restraint during my 18 months in captivity, and I ask that this continues, allowing me to enjoy some valuable and much missed time with my family. It is great to be home.”

Earlier, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, telephoned British Prime Minister David Cameron to brief him on a UAE Armed Forces operation in Aden that reached the location in Yemen where the UK citizen had been kidnapped by the terrorist Al Qaida organisation.

Cameron tweeted on Sunday his gratitude to the UAE for freeing Semple.

“I’m so pleased for the family of the British hostage in Yemen — who has been released safe and well. Thanks to the UAE for their help,” Cameron said.

Freed British hostage thanks UAE | GulfNews.com

 

[KTOOOOM]

will done uae that is how you do it lads

 

[soldier of Putin]

Al-Qaeda denies holding UK hostage freed in Yemen - Al Jazeera English

 

[Madali]

The whole thing is so silly that I've been ignoring it last few days so that our Arab buddies don't their panties in a bunch. UAE "freed" the hostage? How? There has not been 1 action against Al Qaeda in last 5 months and suddenly, UAE soldiers become James Bond?

Plus, who is the hostage? You do a search on his name, "Bob Semple", who has supposidly been held hostage for 1.5 years, and you won't find ONE NEWS. Nothing. Nada. Not even a minor article in a minor UK paper from the guy's husband saying, "hey, my husband has been taken hostage".

And then you read from The Indepenant newspaper from UK,
"After Mr Semple's release was confirmed, video emerged which appeared to show the Briton pleading for his life on 31 August last year, seven months after he was captured. The footage was posted to YouTube by Arab broadcaster AlziandiQ8, but not widely reported."

AFTER he was released, THEN a video was released?

The whole thing is such a joke, but that's the world we live in. Everything is a freaking joke. The media and governments all around us treats us like such simpletons. And you know why? Because everyone believes every crap!

 

[Thəorətic Muslim]

@Frogman

...It was a hand-over...

If the criteria for having a special mission is using spec operators, then the standard is quite low.

AQAP didn't want to see the wrath of the allied bombing so what's 1 prisoner compared to gaining more territory?