close

       Video

       Families of Americans killed in Afghanistan sue contractors over alleged Taliban payments Reaction and analysis from Fox News foreign affairs analyst Walid Phares.

       A U.S. contractor from Illinois was kidnapped by Taliban-associated militants in Afghanistan last week, prompting a nationwide search involving the FBI and State Department, according to a report.

       Mark R. Frerichs, 55, of Lombard, Ill., was abducted last Friday in the province of Khost, U.S. officials, speaking under condition of anonymity, told Newsweek. The southeastern province borders the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, an underdeveloped region between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

       U.S. officials believe the kidnapping was organized by the Haqqani network, an insurgent group once backed by the CIA to fight the Soviets that now aligns with the Taliban. The exclusive report in Newsweek, which was published Wednesday evening, had been held since Monday to allow for the search to progress further, the outlet said.

       Afghan security forces arrive during a fight against Taliban fighters in Kunduz province north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2019. The Taliban have launched a new large-scale attack on one of Afghanistan's main cities, Kunduz, and taken hospital patients as hostages, the government said Saturday, even as the insurgent group continued negotiations with the United States on ending America's longest war. (AP Photo/Bashir Khan Safi)

       AFGHAN PRESIDENT: 3 TALIBAN TO BE RELEASED FOR HELD US, AUSTRALIAN

       The Pentagon is referring all questions to the State Department, Fox News has learned. An unnamed U.S. official told Fox News it’s “likely” an American was kidnapped in Afghanistan, but since he didn’t work for Department of Defense “it is hard to understand his travels and behaviors.”

       It was not immediately known how he was captured. Frerichs is a U.S. Navy veteran diver and managing director at International Logistical Support (ILS), an international shipping company contracted by the U.S. government. He’s been living, working and consulting in Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan and other conflict zones over the past decade, according to his LinkedIn profile.

       Afghanistan's first female ambassador to the US on peace talks with the Taliban

       Amb. Roya Rahmani says 40 years of war has left her country with deep wounds.

       American forces have launched a ground-and-intelligence-gathering mission over the past few days to try to locate Frerichs. The search in part has been hindered by severe winter weather, which has prevented overhead drone surveillance and made it difficult to navigate the terrain.

       2 BODIES, FLIGHT DATA RECOVERED FROM AIR FORCE PLANE THAT CRASHED IN AFGHANISTAN, OFFICIAL SAYS

       The U.S. State Department partners with the FBI to assist in kidnapping negotiations. The U.S. special operation forces could be called in for a hostage rescue once Frerichs’ whereabouts become known, Newsweek reported.

       The Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell, a multi-agency team based at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C., asked Newsweek to delay publishing the story about Frerichs.

       "The welfare and safety of U.S. citizens abroad is one of the highest priorities of the Department of State," Holly Jensen, a spokeswoman for the Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell, told the outlet. "We have no further comment."

       Pentagon identifies the two US soldiers killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan

       Private First Class Miguel Vallalon and Staff Sergeant Ian McLaughlin were killed in Afghanistan’s Kandahar Province when their vehicle struck an IED. The Taliban has claimed responsibility.

       Former U.S. President Barack Obama founded the group in July 2015 after ISIS militants beheaded journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff. The Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell supports American families during the hostage negotiation process and coordinates recovery efforts between different government agencies.

       CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

       In November, an American peace envoy brokered a prisoner exchange. Afghanistan released three members of the Taliban-linked Haqqani network in exchange for an American and Australian abducted in 2016 and held captive for three years. An American identified as Kevin King, 63, and an Australian man identified as Timothy Weekes, 50, were both abducted at gunpoint outside the American University in Kabul where they worked as teachers, according to the Associated Press.

       Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the swap was a “goodwill gesture,” and President Trump said he hoped it would lead to a better deal with the Taliban.

       Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson contributed to this report.