17 missionaries kidnapped by gang in Haiti, police say
CBSN
Port-au-Prince, Haiti — The State Department confirmed on Sunday that 16 Americans were among 17 people kidnapped in Haiti. A gang that was responsible for kidnapping five priests and two nuns earlier this year is being blamed for the recent kidnapping as well, police say.
"The welfare and safety of U.S. citizens abroad is one of the highest priorities of the Department of State," the State Department said in a statement. "We have been in regular contact with senior Haitian authorities and will continue to work with them and interagency partners. We will provide additional information as we are able."
The "400 Mawozo" gang kidnapped the group — which also included some elderly people — in Ganthier, a commune that lies east of the capital of Port-au-Prince, Haitian police inspector Frantz Champagne told The Associated Press.
Ashley White received her earliest combat action badge from the United States Army soon after the first lieutenant arrived in Afghanistan. The silver military award, recognizing soldiers who've been personally engaged by an attacker during conflict, was considered an achievement in and of itself as well as an affirming rite of passage for the newly deployed. White had earned it for using her own body to shield a group of civilian women and children from gunfire that broke out in the midst of her third mission in Kandahar province. All of them survived. She never mentioned the badge to anyone in her battalion.