WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. citizen Danny Burch has been reunited with his family after 18 months in captivity in Yemen, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday, praising the United Arab Emirates for its role in “bringing Danny home.”
Burch, an oil engineer who grew up in Texas and spent years working in Yemen, was taken hostage in September 2017, according to his family at the time, although Reuters reported in January 2018 that he had been released and taken to Oman.
“Today he is safe and secure, and is reunited with his wife and children,” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement. “The family has asked for privacy as they recover from this ordeal.”
Trump tweeted the news about Burch after he left Washington about 12:30 p.m. EST (1730 GMT) headed for Vietnam where he will meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for a second summit.
Reporting by Lisa Lambert, Makini Brice and Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Steve Orlofsky and Grant McCool