South African Worker Caught Up in Mozambique Security Incident

A South African man was among a group of up to 20 workers abducted in Mozambique during an attack by insurgents on a hunting camp, South Africa’s foreign ministry said Monday.
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation said the 30-year-old man was among five South Africans working at the wildlife reserve who were caught up in last week’s attack. Of the other four, two had returned to South Africa, and two remained safe in Mozambique.
“Embassy officials are working with Mozambican authorities and are monitoring the situation and developments in Niassa Province,” the department told told The Associated Press.
The attack is thought to have been carried out by militants linked to the Islamic State group, which launched an insurgency in neighboring Cabo Delgado province in 2017.
The U.S. Embassy in Mozambique, which acknowledged the attack in a statement, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Local police said at least 11 people, including children, were abducted during the attack on the town of Marangira, in Niassa province. It wasn’t immediately clear why there was a discrepancy in the number of people abducted between South African and Mozambican authorities.
Police spokesperson Osvaldo Mahando told local media that one person was killed, another slightly injured, and vehicles were burned in the attack.