U.S. Diplomat Reported Freed by Yemen Tribe

SANA, Yemen —  Kidnaped U.S. diplomat Haynes Mahoney III was released late Monday by tribesmen who had held him hostage at their desert stronghold, Interior Minister Yehya Mutawakil said.

In Washington, the State Department said it could not confirm the release.

Mahoney, 44, the head of the U.S. Information Service office, was kidnaped Thursday on his way to a Thanksgiving dinner.

“We have met all the demands of the kidnapers. We pledge to carry them out,” the minister said.

The demands included payment to the tribe for an oil-pumping station used by the U.S. Yemen Hunt Oil Co., back salaries for 150 tribesmen who were discharged from the presidential guard, back salaries for a number of similarly discharged officers and an economic development plan for the tribe’s region.