Mark Frerichs
Mark Frerichs is an American Civil Engineer, who disappeared in Afghanistan in January 2020.[1] Newsweek magazine reported Frerichs that officials who insisted on anonymity had confirmed that had been captive by the Haqqani network, a group closely aligned with the Taliban.[2]
Frerichs is a director of International Logistical Support whose work had lead him to visit Afghanistan multiple times, since 2012.[2] He is a veteran of the US Navy.[3]
The Associated Press reported that US intelligence officials tracked Frerichs cell-phone, and raided a village, near where he disappeared, approximately a week after his disappearance in Khost Province.[3] Although they rounded up individuals from that village the raid proved unproductive.
Frerichs's sister, Charlene Cakora, questioned why the US government "signed a peace deal" with the Taliban in early February, that did not include provision for releasing her brother.[3] The Federal Bureau of Investigation, lead agency of the Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell, issued a statement saying the cell was working to ensure “that Mark Frerichs and all Americans held hostage abroad are returned home.”
On May 10, 2020, the FBI offered a $1 million reward for information that helped lead to Frerichs's release or rescue.[1]
On May 10, 2020, Taliban spokesmen asserted they have conducted an inquiry of their subordinate and associated groups, to confirm they are not holding Frerichs.[4]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 James Gordon Meek; Conor Finnegan (2020-05-12). "FBI offers $1 million for information leading to former Taliban hostage's captors". ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/fbi-offers-million-information-leading-taliban-hostages-captors/story?id=70642891. Retrieved 2020-05-13. "At least two Americans remain missing in Afghanistan, including commercial contractor Mark Frerichs, who was kidnapped on Jan. 31 by the Haqqani Network, a faction of the Afghan Taliban, U.S. officials believe."
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 James Laporta; Tom O'Connor; Naveed Jamali (2020-02-05). "Exclusive: U.S. citizen kidnapped by Taliban group in Afghanistan". Newsweek magazine. https://www.newsweek.com/exclusive-us-citizen-kidnapped-afghanistan-1485439. Retrieved 2020-05-13. "Mark R. Frerichs of Lombard, Illinois, was kidnapped last Friday in Khost, a province located in the southeastern part of the country that borders the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, an underdeveloped region between Afghanistan and Pakistan, U.S. officials told Newsweek, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the details publicly."
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 James Laporta; Eric Tucker (2020-04-30). "Navy SEALs raided Afghan village in attempt to locate Illinois man taken hostage by militants". Chicago Tribune (Washington, DC). https://www.chicagotribune.com/nation-world/ct-nw-illinois-hostage-afghanistan-20200430-vtbztw25hrfvlilfoiuwbi27mi-story.html. Retrieved 2020-05-13. "In the days following the capture of an American contractor in Afghanistan earlier this year, Navy commandos raided a village and detained suspected members of the Taliban-linked Haqqani network while the U.S. intelligence community tried to track the cellphones of the man and his captors, The Associated Press has learned."
- ↑ "Taliban: We do not have missing US contractor". Arab News (Islamabad). 2020-05-10. https://www.arabnews.com/node/1672581/world. Retrieved 2020-05-13. "Taliban leaders searched their ranks, including in the much-feared Haqqani network, and on Sunday said they are not holding Mark R. Frerichs, a Navy veteran turned contractor who disappeared in Afghanistan in late January."
- ↑ "x". ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/International/family-american-kidnapped-afghanistan-fears-us-leaving-taliban/story?id=70585469. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
