Saddam Haftar's forces reportedly free two European hostages held by IS in Niger
What happened
A Telegram channel, @arabicafrica, reports that forces under Saddam Haftar secured the release of Austrian Eva Gretzmacher and Swiss Claudia Abbott, who had been held by Islamic State militants since being abducted in Niger. The Russian-language post says the two women were freed on 21 October and brought to the Libyan city of Benghazi. It states that Gretzmacher was seized on 11 January 2025 in Agadez, northern Niger (spelled Agades in the post), and that Abbott was taken from the same city on the night of 13 to 14 April 2025. The post describes their captivity as more than a year and a half. It also recalls that in August of the previous year Haftar secured the release of American missionary Kevin Raidot, kidnapped in Niamey. The post does not describe how the release was negotiated, where the women were held, or any official statement from Austria, Switzerland, or Libya.
Context and assessment
Kidnappings of Western nationals in the Sahel have been a recurring feature of jihadist activity since the early 2010s, with Islamic State-affiliated groups and the al-Qaeda-linked JNIM both holding foreign hostages for ransom or political leverage. Agadez, a desert city on the routes linking Niger to Libya and Algeria, has long been a hub for smuggling and migration, which makes it a difficult environment for outside actors to operate in. Niger's military government, in power since the 2023 coup, has also reduced cooperation with Western partners, complicating formal channels for hostage recovery. Against that backdrop, a release arranged through an eastern Libyan actor would suggest that families and intermediaries have turned to informal networks that reach across the Libya-Niger border. The dataset contains no related events, so this reading rests on background rather than a documented series. The post's reference to a previous Haftar-linked release points to a possible pattern in which the Libyan National Army has positioned itself as a broker, but that claim is not independently verified here. Operationally, such a role would indicate contacts with armed groups in southern Libya or the Sahel, though the post does not identify any of them.
Sources and confidence
The only channel reporting this is the Telegram account @arabicafrica, a single-source post in Russian. No wire service, government statement, or independent outlet in the available data confirms the release, the dates, or the families' appeal described in the post. The confidence score of 5.6 reflects this single-source status and the absence of corroboration. It would rise with confirmation from the Austrian or Swiss foreign ministries, official Libyan media, or established wire agencies naming the women and the release date. It would fall if officials deny the release or if the abduction dates reported elsewhere contradict the post's timeline.
Location
Coordinates are set at settlement level for Benghazi, the eastern Libyan city where the women were reportedly brought. The post does not state where they were held or released, so the point does not mark either location. Benghazi sits on the Gulf of Sidra in northeastern Libya, serves as the power base of the Libyan National Army, and has a major port and airport. The marker is an approximate city-centre position.
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Intel Mapper aggregates open-source reports from monitored Telegram and X channels, geolocates them, cross-checks duplicates across sources and assigns a confidence score. Entries are updated as new confirmations arrive. Read how we verify events.