It did not elaborate.
Advertisement
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.
“We will continue to work tirelessly to pursue the release of all Americans detained overseas unjustly, including those who remain in the region”, Kerry said in a statement.
It has not been made immediately clear who the captives are, or confirmed when they were captured.
The Shiite Houthi group has controlled half of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, since September 2014. The conflict escalated in March as a Saudi-led, U.S.-backed coalition launched an air campaign against the Houthis.
The Washington Post, however, said the release of one of the Americans, a convert to Islam, was being delayed for undisclosed reasons by the Yemeni government.
An administration official tells NBC News securing their release was complicated given the lack of cooperation from the Houthi rebels, as well as the violence and instability in the region.
A statement released in their US Embassy website and Facebook page said, “US Ambassador Greta Holtz expresses her honest gratitude to the Government of Oman and to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos for assisting with the safe passage of two United States citizens from Yemen to Oman”. The delegation is accompanied by another from the party of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who is allied with the Houthis, said Aref al-Zouka, the party’s secretary-general.
“He just called me”, she told the Associated Press.
Advertisement
The British Foreign Office was unable to confirm the hostages’ release. They were attempting to flee when they were arrested as was an unnamed third American.
