UK petroleum engineer freed in Yemen

Yemen

SANA'A, August 24, 2015 – A UK petroleum engineer has been freed from captors in Yemen by a UAE military raid. Douglas Robert Semple, kidnapped in the country in early 2014, has been released in the past few days.

The 64-year-old was abducted in February 2014 from the Hadda district in Sana’a. Following the recent raid, he was transported to the port city of Aden and flown to Abu Dhabi.

“I’m pleased to confirm that a British hostage held in Yemen has been extracted by UAE forces in a military intelligence operation,” UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said in a statement. “The British national is safe and well, and is receiving support from British government officials. We are very grateful for the assistance of the UAE,” he added.

Semple is reported to have been working in the Hadramawt province when he was snatched at gunpoint last year. Mohammed bin Zayev al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince and deputy supreme commander of the UAE armed forces, informed UK Prime Minister David Cameron of the news of his release over the weekend.

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