Two Americans who were being held by Iran-backed militants in Yemen for at least a year were freed Wednesday in a prisoner swap.
The remains of a third American, Bilal Fateen, were also returned to the U.S. in the deal.
The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. officials struck a deal with Houthi militants to free humanitarian worker Sandra Loli and businessman Mikael Gidada. Loli had been held for roughly a year, while Gidada had been held for more than a year. Fateen died while in custody.
In exchange, more than 200 Houthi militants who were being kept in Oman were freed. They were flown to Oman several years ago, the Journal noted, for medical care, but then were prevented by Saudi Arabia from returning to Yemen.
The Journal reported that the talks to free the Americans were growing urgent over concerns for Loli's health.
Mohammed Ali al-Houthi of the Houthi political council said, according to the Journal, "There are a lot of Americans visiting the Republic of Yemen, and they work safely in Yemen, but if those were just citizens with no involvement in suspicious acts or law violations they won't be subjected to anything."
U.S. officials said there was no evidence that the three Americans did anything wrong.
© 2021 Newsmax. All rights reserved.