The wife of an American held hostage by Islamist militants in Africa broke years of silence to criticize U.S. government efforts and to make a plea to the leader of an al-Qaida-affiliated group to release her husband.
On Wednesday she said her family has grown deeply frustrated with the U.S. government's failure to secure her husband's release. Woodke's captivity has now spanned three U.S. administrations.
Els Woodke disclosed that her family now has reason to believe from their own sources in Africa that her husband has been transferred from the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara to an al-Qaida affiliate in northwest Africa known as JNIM -- which would offer hope because the JNIM leader in the past has negotiated the release of Western hostages in the Sahel. In August, French forces killed, the ISIS leader in northwest Africa, which Els Woodke said offers hope for a negotiation with JNIM.
Addressing her husband directly, she said,"Jeff, I hope you hear that we are working hard for your release. Do not lose hope. We love you. Stay strong. Stay strong.""I believe that you have kept Jeff safe and healthy and I thank you for that. I believe that you also desire that Jeff should be returned to his home and his work on behalf of the Tuareg and other nomadic people of the region," Els Woodke said in the video.
"I think it's important to underscore why, then, was that mission undertaken? Why was it so important to send those people up there?" Waldhauser said at a Pentagon press conference in 2018.
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