hostages

Ido Dan, an uncle to three children feared abducted by Hamas and taken to Gaza, stands for a portrait with his twin daughters. The remnants of their sixth birthday party, which took place the same day as the incursion, are still around the house.

Families of hostages taken by Hamas militants are desperate amid threats of execution

3:52pm October 11, 2023

Many Israelis are frantically looking for clues about loved ones believed to be held in Gaza. Ido Dan keeps watching a video that appears to show Hamas militants kidnapping his 12-year-old nephew.

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Commandos Cédric de Pierrepont (left) and Alain Bertoncello were killed during a rescue operation that freed four hostages in Burkina Faso, France's navy says.

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2 French Commandos Die In Operation To Free 4 Hostages In Burkina Faso

1:12pm May 10, 2019

by Bill Chappell

France's military says it's mourning the men who died during the rescue of two French tourists, an American and a South Korean.

World News

Canadian Man Details Horrors Family Endured In Years Held By Haqqani Network

1:51pm October 15, 2017

by Renee Montagne

Canadian Joshua Boyle and his American wife Caitlin Coleman were captured by the terrorist group in 2012. This past week they and their children were freed, and face a tough reentry into society.

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British daily newspapers from earlier this year showed the masked killer now identified as ISIS leader Mohamed Emwazi. He was targeted Thursday by the U.S. in an airstrike in Raqqa, Syria.

U.S. Airstrike Targets 'Jihadi John' In Raqqa, Syria

11:27pm November 12, 2015

by Barbara Campbell

The Pentagon has not said whether it was able to kill the ISIS leader, whose real name is Mohammed Emwazi. He appeared in videotapes released online of Americans and other hostages being murdered.

Two Americans Held In Yemen Are Freed, White House Says

3:07pm September 20, 2015

by Scott Neuman

One was identified as an employee of a New Orleans-based logistics company who had been held since March. The other, from Michigan, worked as a security consultant.

For Families Of U.S. Hostages, New Policy May Bring New Hope

2:57pm June 29, 2015

by NPR Staff

This week, President Obama announced changes to the government policy on Americans abducted abroad. A former FBI hostage negotiator explains what this means for the hostages — and for their families.

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U.S. Clarifies Hostage Policy, Saying It Won't Prosecute Families Over Ransom

2:54pm June 24, 2015

by Bill Chappell

The Obama administration says the U.S. will continue to try to prevent hostage situations — and the Justice Department says it "does not intend to add to families' pain" if they pay ransoms.

Mourners pray during a ceremony for Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kaseasbeh, who was killed by the Islamic State after he was captured in December. At Wednesday's service, which took place in the city of Karak, mourners called for the destruction of ISIS.

World News

As Jets Roar Overhead, Jordan Remembers Its Fallen Pilot

8:16am February 05, 2015

by Peter Kenyon

Many Jordanians opposed joining the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS. But at the funeral of the pilot burned to death by the extremists, mourners honored his sacrifice and called for ISIS' destruction.

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A frame grab from a video released by the Islamic State shows an IS militant holding a knife before purportedly executing British aid worker David Cawthorne Haines.

World News

ISIS 'Are Not Muslims, They Are Monsters,' Cameron Says

8:01pm September 14, 2014

by Bill Chappell

This weekend, David Haines' family publicly asked his captors to contact them. Instead, the group released its third video showing a Western hostage being killed.