An American citizen held in Yemen was released on Sunday and evacuated from rebel-controlled Sanaa to Muscat along with Yemenis wounded in the country's conflict, the sultanate's foreign ministry said.
The unidentified man was transported onboard an Omani military aircraft after his release was secured "following a request by the US government (to Oman) to continue helping in (releasing) its citizens held in Yemen", the ministry said in a statement carried by the state news agency ONA.
It said he was set free following "co-ordination with concerned parties in Sanaa," in an apparent reference to Iran-backed Shiite Huthi rebels. Last month, Muscat secured the release of two other Americans who were held in Sanaa.
There have been dozens of kidnappings of foreigners in Yemen over the years, most of them by members of the country's heavily armed tribes seeking concessions from the authorities.
Since the Huthi rebels overran the capital in September 2014, they have detained several Westerners, most of whom have been released through Omani mediation.
In September, a US citizen who ran an English-language school in Sanaa was detained by men who said they were security officers working for the Huthis, witnesses said at the time.
A rebel leader later said the US national was detained for providing the Saudi-led coalition with target co-ordinates for its deadly campaign against the Iran-backed Huthis.
A member of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, Oman has good ties with countries outside the wealthy bloc including with the Yemeni rebels.


















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