The State Department has confirmed that an American contractor was kidnapped by the Haqqani Network last Friday in Khost province, Afghanistan.
The victim has been identified as Mark R. Frerichs, a Navy veteran that has been working as a logistician and civil engineer in several hotspots across the globe for the last decade. No information has been disclosed as to how the kidnapping was carried out.
US officials claimed that the Haqqani Network is responsible for the kidnapping. The Haqqanis fall under the Taliban banner, but operate separately with considerable international support from both al Qaeda and the Pakistani government’s intelligence apparatus, who use them as a proxy force.