Wayne County Man Among Hostages Released from Yemen

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A Dearborn Heights man is among two Americans released from Yemen, where they had been held hostage for more than six months, the White House said Sunday.

Sam Farran, 54, a security consultant from Dearborn Heights, had been held in the war-ravaged country since March 27, NBC News is reporting. Also released was Scott Darden, 45, who had been working for a New Orleans logistics firm, Transoceanic Development.

The two Americans had been detained by Shiite Houthi rebels fighting government forces in the Yemeni capital of Sana’a. At least one American is still in captivity, but it’s unclear who has him, an Obama administration official told CNN.

The hostages, who were captured as they tried to flee Yemen, a spokesman for Transoceanic Development spokesman Ken Luce said.

“When the uprising happened, Scott called Sam, who he knew, for help in getting out of Yemen,” Luce told CNN. “They were captured together before they could leave the country.”

Other hostages, including one Briton and three Saudi nationals, were also released, according to state television in Oman, where the hostages were flown after their release, the White House said.

Securing the release of the hostages was complicated by the rebels’ refusal to cooperate and violence and instability in the area, a senior administration official told NBC. A new Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell, led by the FBI, helped secure their releases, the official said.

The Washington Post reported that Ned Price, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said in a statement: “We welcome the release of two U.S. citizens who had been detained in Yemen since earlier this year. As we have informed their families, these individuals departed Yemen today and have since arrived in Oman. The U.S. ambassador to Muscat and a consular official met them upon arrival and will provide all possible consular assistance.”

The conflict in Yemen intensified in March after a Saudi-led, U.S.-backed coalition launched airstrikes against the Iran-backed Houthi rebel forces after they seized the palace in Yemen’s capital in January and Saudi-backed President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi fled to exile in Saudi Arabia.

Securing the release of Americans held abroad has been a top priority of the Obama administration, the White House said.