PARIS — French special forces Monday freed a Dutchman held hostage since being kidnapped in 2011 by extremists in Mali, the government said. There was no immediate word on the fate of two men abducted at the same time.
The military said the rescue of Sjaak Rijke took place at 5 a.m. Monday in far northern Mali. French President Francois Hollande said some militants were killed and others captured. Monday's statement did not identify who was holding Rijke, but the Dutchman appeared in a video posted in November by al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb.
Some 3,000 French forces are taking part in the mission to stabilize Mali, which was overrun by al-Qaida-linked Islamic extremists until French troops came to the aid of Malian soldiers in January 2013.
Rijke was abducted by extremists in November 2011 from a hostel in Timbuktu along with Johan Gustafsson of Sweden and South African Stephen Malcolm, who holds dual British citizenship. A German died in the attack. Officials in France and the Netherlands did not say whether there was any news of Gustafsson or Malcolm.
France said Rijke was safely evacuated to a French operating base in Tassalit.