Six Years a HostageThe Extraordinary Story of the Longest Held Al Qaeda Captive in the World Stephen McGown was en route from London to South Africa, on a once in a lifetime trip by motorbike, returning home to Johannesburg. He had reached Timbuktu, in Mali, when he was captured, along with a Dutch and a Swedish national, by Al Qaeda Islamist militants. Steve was taken because he held a British passport. He was subsequently held hostage at various camps in the Sahara