A U.S. citizen kidnapped at gunpoint in the West African nation of Niger this past week has been rescued in a dramatic U.S. military operation in neighboring Nigeria, the defense department confirmed.

Philip Walton, 27, was taken from his farm in Massalata in southern Niger early Tuesday morning by kidnappers armed with AK-47 assault rifles who demanded a $1million ransom from the man's father.

The Defense Department confirmed on Saturday that the successful operation was undertaken by elite commandos from SEAL Team 6 in a daring early-morning raid after they tracked the kidnappers phones. 

According to ABC, all but one of the seven captors was killed in the mission, described as a 'precision' hostage rescue. 

'They were all dead before they knew what happened,' a source told the network.

President Trump tweeted out his praise as the news of the rescue broke. 'Big win for our very elite U.S. Special Forces today. Details to follow!' he wrote.  

In a statement released later, Trump said that the operation was undertaken on his direction and had rescued Walton within 96 hours of his kidnapping. 

'Securing the freedom of Americans held in captivity abroad has been a top national security priority of my administration,' he said.