But the UAE’s official news agency, WAM, said on its Twitter account that the Briton was being held by al Qaeda in the southern Yemen port city of Aden and had been transferred to the Emirati capital of Abu Dhabi.
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“The British national is safe and well, and is receiving support from British government officials”, he said in a statement, adding that the government is “very grateful for the assistance of the UAE”. The man has been flown to Abu Dhabi to meet the British ambassador and undergo a medical evaluation to check his health after captivity.
Qatar and Saudi Arabia too have previously leveraged their power in negotiating the release of western hostages, media reports suggest.
The WAM statement released Sunday says Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan telephoned British Prime Minister David Cameron Saturday evening to inform him of the operation.
Yemen remains in turmoil as forces loyal to former President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi supported by Saudi Arabia are battling against Houthi rebels and troops loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the local branch of the network, is considered among its most unsafe affiliates and has taken advantage of the chaos in Yemen to seize territory including Hadramawt provincial capital Mukalla.
Several Britons have been recently kidnapped in war-torn Yemen, where abductions are frequent as armed tribesmen and al Qaida-linked militants take hostages in an effort to swap them for prisoners or cash.
The Foreign Office in London confirmed that a British hostage in Yemen had been freed by UAE forces but did not identify him and also provided no further details.
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In July 2014, Mike Harvey was released five months after being captured in Sanaa.
