US aid worker and French journalist freed in West Africa

By DALATOU MAMANE, ERIC TUCKER and KRISTA LARSON
Associated Press

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — An American aid worker and a French journalist kidnapped and held by Islamist extremists were freed on Monday, four days after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken paid a visit to West Africa. U.S. officials said no ransom had been paid for aid worker Jeffery Woodke, who was held for more than six years. The French government did not comment on how was freedom was won for journalist Olivier Dubois, who was abducted almost two years ago in Mali. Blinken had visited the region last week and on Thursday spoke to the press in Niger, where he announced $150 million in direct assistance to the Sahel region.