Freelance journalist Casey Coombs has been released by the Shiite Houhi rebels in Yemen after being held hostage earlier this month. Coombs' mother, Jill Hammil, shares he sounded "extremely relieved" after talking to him on the phone, Sunday, following his release.
33-year-old Coombs was among the American hostages held by Shiite Houthi. The Guardian reports there are at least three more Americans left in the rebels' camp.
Through the assistance of Yemen's neighboring country, Oman, State Department spokesperson Marie Harf says she is "grateful to the government of Oman" for mediating in the negotiations with the Yemenis and Houthi leaders.
Harf added Coombs is now in a "stable condition," undergoing medical treatment for physical and mental injuries in a hospital in Oman.
Coomb's mother, who recently had a conversation with her son on the phone tells Fox News that he is still in a traumatic state, but sounded relieved. "He said he's trying to process the whole thing. Sounds like he's still in shock."
Hammil also added seeing her son again is going to be a miracle. "We didn't know if we would see him again."
Coombs is a freelance journalist for The Intercept, BBC, GlobalPost, and other news websites. He wrote humanitarian stories in Yemen for three years. His mother told Fox News that Coombs reported earlier in May, that he was taken by the rebels while covering for The Intercept.
"Quiet day as far as fighting in Sanaa #Yemen" was Coomb's last tweet when he was still in the rebels' captivity. The reporter shared that the war in Sanaa has finally calmed down.
When asked if she thinks Coombs would still continue in journalism, Hammil sad that being a journalist is what "who he is" and that "it's in his blood." She added, however, that of all the places in the world, it will definitely not be in Yemen anymore.
