A U.S. pilot has been kidnapped in the capital of the West African state of Niger.

Information from security circles released on Wednesday suggests the victim is a 48-year-old pilot working for a Christian non-governmental organisation on a humanitarian mission.

Armed men abducted him in the middle of the night from his accommodation in a heavily secured neighbourhood in the centre of Niamey.

The Nigerien security authorities were said to be conducting a nationwide search.

No group has yet claimed responsibility, although armed terrorist groups loyal to Al-Qaeda and Islamic State are active in Niger, kidnappings from Niamey itself are rare.

The most recent known case occurred in 2011.

Earlier this year, a 74-year-old Austrian woman and a 66-year-old Swiss woman were abducted from the desert town of Agadez, located about 950 kilometres north of Niamey.

Both had been living there for years. Local media and security sources reported that they may have been taken to neighbouring Mali and sold to Islamic State.

There has been no public information about their whereabouts for months.

The tri-border area of the Sahel states of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger has been one of the most dangerous regions in the world for over a decade, due to the spread of terrorist groups.

The security situation in Niger has deteriorated significantly in recent times. Following a military coup in 2023, the country has largely ended its cooperation with Western security partners.

(dpa/NAN)