Two Americans Held Hostage by Iran-Backed Forces in Yemen Freed in Trade

Two Americans held hostage by Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen were freed on Wednesday as part of a U.S.-backed trade that returned more than 200 of the group’s loyalists to the fractured Middle East country, according to U.S. and Saudi officials.

A Royal Oman Air Force plane carrying the two Americans and the remains of a third flew out of Yemen’s Houthi-controlled capital of Sana’a, hours after the jet and a companion flight brought hundreds of militants back to the country following years stuck in Oman.

The deal secured freedom for Sandra Loli, an American humanitarian worker who was held hostage by the Houthis for about three years, and Mikael Gidada, a U.S. businessman who was held for about a year, said Kash Patel, a deputy assistant to President Trump who worked on the deal.

The pact also included the return of the remains of Bilal Fateen, a third American who had been held by the Houthis. U.S. officials provided only limited information on the three Americans, but did say that they had been working urgently to secure the deal because Ms. Loli’s health was in decline. The deal also included delivery of medical aid for Yemen.

Saudi officials said they reluctantly backed the deal, which they said would permit dozens of Houthi militants trained on advanced drones and missiles to return to the battle zone. Mr. Patel said the U.S. worked to ensure that Houthis returning to Yemen didn’t pose a major risk.

Houthi officials weren’t immediately available for comment.

With U.S. support, Saudi Arabia and its Middle East allies have pursued a five-year-old battle against the Iran-backed fighters in Yemen, who toppled the government and seized the Gulf country’s capital in 2014. The United Nations has repeatedly tried to broker an end to the war in Yemen, which the international body says is home of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

U.S. backing for the war in Yemen has become a polarizing issue in Washington, where Mr. Trump vetoed a bipartisan resolution last year that sought to end American support for the Saudi-led military coalition battling Houthi fighters.

Lawmakers from both parties have criticized the U.S. for providing Saudi Arabia and its allies with weapons, intelligence and other military support for the fight in Yemen, where the coalition’s airstrikes have killed thousands of civilians. Under pressure, the Pentagon has scaled back its support for Saudi Arabia’s fight in Yemen.

Under the deal, Saudi and U.S. officials said, Houthi leaders agreed to release the two Americans if Saudi Arabia and its allies allowed more than 200 Houthi loyalists to leave Oman and return to Yemen, where the Saudi-led coalition controls flights in and out of the capital. At one point earlier this fall, the accord called for release of about 100 Houthi loyalists, but Saudi officials said the Houthis increased their demands in recent weeks.

Most of the Houthi fighters were flown to Oman several years ago for medical care as part of a U.N.-brokered goodwill gesture by the Saudi-led coalition meant to jump start peace talks. Once they got to Oman, they were blocked by Saudi Arabia from returning.

Martin Griffiths, the U.N. special envoy, has tried for two years to find a way to end the war. His efforts have helped contain the fighting, but talks have suffered repeated setbacks.

The deal to free the Americans was negotiated in parallel with a previously announced, broader prisoner exchange arranged by the U.N. The Saudi-led coalition agreed last month to release 681 Houthi fighters in return for 400 people held by the Houthis, including four Saudi soldiers. The latest deal—kept out of the public eye by the families of the Americans and the U.S. government while officials tried to secure their freedom—is apart from that.

U.N. and Gulf officials hoped that the staggered prisoner exchange would help revive peace talks, but a new surge in fighting has again cast a pall over those prospects.

Robert O’Brien, Mr. Trump’s national security adviser, thanked Saudi Arabia and Oman for working with the U.S. to secure release of the Americans. Saudi officials said they agreed to help the U.S. even though Houthi fighters have stifled U.N. efforts to end the war.