• Behind the failed rescue effort of American hostage in Yemen

    Behind the failed rescue effort of American hostage in Yemen

    Dec 06, 2014 09:42 PM EDT

    ... armed gunmen inside who were holding the hostages. A gun battle broke out, and in the – before the commandos could get inside the compound, both hostages had been shot as the militants fled. The commandoes hurried to get both hostages, Luke Somers and a South African aboard the aircraft and ...

  • American hostage killed during rescue attempt in Yemen

    American hostage killed during rescue attempt in Yemen

    Dec 06, 2014 04:14 PM EDT

    ... his entire time here," Al Kadas wrote. Al-Arashi, his editor at the National Yemen, recalled a moment when Somers edited a story on other hostages held in the country. "He looked at me and said, `I don't want to be a hostage,'" al-Arashi said. "`I don't ...

  • News Wrap: Obama ordered review of U.S. hostage response

    News Wrap: Obama ordered review of U.S. hostage response

    Nov 19, 2014 12:29 AM EDT

    ... if his party loses its majority in the election. GWEN IFILL: President Obama has ordered a review of how to respond to Americans being taken hostage overseas. The White House confirmed the existence of the review, which it said began last summer, after news of the latest beheading of an ...

  • Latest Islamic State propaganda video depicts British hostage as war correspondent

    Latest Islamic State propaganda video depicts British hostage as war correspondent

    Oct 28, 2014 07:31 PM EDT

    ... street, and building to building.” This isn’t Cantlie’s first appearance in an IS propaganda video. The militant group has used the British freelance photojournalist in several other videos, often featured as the group’s spokesman. Islamic State has beheaded four hostages, two American journalists and two British nationals.

  • Slain French hostage was ‘full of enthusiasm’

    Slain French hostage was ‘full of enthusiasm’

    Sep 24, 2014 08:56 PM EDT

    Herve Gourdel, a 55-year-old mountain guide, was abducted on Sunday as he was hiking the remote Djura Djura mountains of northern Algeria. He was killed by extremists in a video released Wednesday that YouTube quickly pulled off the Internet.

  • News Wrap: Islamic State releases propaganda video of British hostage

    News Wrap: Islamic State releases propaganda video of British hostage

    Sep 19, 2014 12:56 AM EDT

    ... Obama has said he favors Scotland remaining part of the U.K. JUDY WOODRUFF: The Islamic State group today released a propaganda video of British hostage John Cantlie, a freelance photojournalist. Three hostages have been beheaded already, and Cantlie criticized the failure to win their freedom. He said -- quote -- "Seeing ...

  • American hostages renew focus on U.S. ransom policy

    American hostages renew focus on U.S. ransom policy

    Aug 28, 2014 01:07 AM EDT

    ... GWEN IFILL: Now we will take a closer look at some of the victims of Muslim extremists, Americans who have been taken hostage. Jeffrey Brown take a look tonight at the long, complicated and often unsuccessful process of bringing them home. JEFFREY BROWN: American journalist Peter Theo Curtis spoke ...

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    American woman held hostage by Islamic State

    Aug 26, 2014 07:35 PM EDT

    WASHINGTON — The Islamic State militant group is holding hostage a young American woman who was doing humanitarian aid work in Syria, a family representative said Tuesday. The 26-year-old woman is the third American known to have been kidnapped by the militant group. The Islamic State group recently threatened ...

  • Burger King to buy Canadian chain Tim Hortons

    Burger King to buy Canadian chain Tim Hortons

    Aug 26, 2014 03:05 PM EDT

    Burger King announced on Tuesday that it will buy Canadian restaurant chain Tim Hortons for about $11.4 billion, which would create the world’s third-largest fast-food chain. The deal also would move Burger King’s headquarters to Canada. The combined business will have about $23 billion in ...

  • Qatar reportedly working to free more U.S. hostages

    Qatar reportedly working to free more U.S. hostages

    Aug 26, 2014 01:20 PM EDT

    ... who have gone missing in Syria have now been located, and Qatar is working to free them.” The source spoke on condition of anonymity. The hostages were being held by “various groups,” the source said, without providing details. Shadi Hamid of the Brookings Institution said on NPR’s “All Things ...