A US.. citizen has been captured in eastern Afghanistan.
A countrywide recovery effort is underway in Afghanistan after an American contractor was kidnapped by militants affiliated with the Taliban. Newsweek identified the contractor as Mark Frerichs of Illinois.
Frerichs, 57, was reportedly captured in last Friday in Khost, a province in the southeastern part of the country. He is a former Navy diver and now works as the managing director of the U.S. government contractor International Logistical Support.
No group has claimed responsibility for the capture, although officials believe the Haqqani network, which is affiliated with the Taliban, was behind the abduction. Since Frerichs’s capture, there have been ground and intelligence operations to try to attempt and recover him. The Defense Department, the FBI, and the State Department are all involved in the search.
A State Department official told the Washington Examiner that the United States is aware of reports about the capture and that “the welfare and safety of U.S. citizens abroad is one of the highest priorities of the Department of State.”
