Navy SEALs rescue hostages from pirates in Somalia
Jessica Buchanan and Poul Hagen Thisted were freed 'during an operation in Somalia.'
Navy SEALs who killed Osama bin Laden rescue of 2 hostages in Somalia: report
(NYDN) MOGADISHU, Somalia — The Navy SEALs that took down Osama bin Laden were behind the daring raid in Somalia that rescued to people kidnapped by pirates, an official confirmed to The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The team parachuted into Somalia under cover of darkness Wednesday and crept up to an outdoor camp where an American woman and Danish man were being held hostage. Soon, nine kidnappers were dead and both hostages were freed.
President Barack Obama himself authorized the mission two days earlier, and minutes after he gave his State of the Union address to Congress he was on the phone with the American’s father to tell him his daughter was safe.
“As Commander-in-Chief, I could not be prouder of the troops who carried out this mission, and the dedicated professionals who supported their efforts,” Obama said in a statement released by the White House.
The Danish Refugee Council confirmed that the two aid workers, American Jessica Buchanan and Dane Poul Hagen Thisted, were “on their way to be reunited with their families.”
Buchanan, 32, and Thisted, 60, were working with a de-mining unit of the Danish Refugee Council when gunmen kidnapped the two in October.
A pirate who gave his name as Bile Hussein told The Associated Press he had spoken to pirates at the scene of the raid and they reported that nine pirates had been killed and three were “taken away,” which could mean they were captured by U.S. troops. He said the raid caught the guards as they were sleeping after having chewed the narcotic leaf qat for much of the evening.
A U.S. official confirmed local media reports that the SEALs parachuted into the area, before moving on foot to the target. The raid happened near the Somali town of Adado.
New intelligence emerged last week that Buchanan’s health was “deteriorating rapidly,” so Obama directed his security team to develop a rescue plan, according to a senior administration official who was not authorized to speak publicly.
On Monday, after a top-level security meeting to review rescue options, U.S. national security adviser Tom Donilon briefed Obama on a possible plan that the president authorized, the official said.
“Jessica Buchanan was selflessly serving her fellow human beings when she was taken hostage by criminals and pirates who showed no regard for her health and well-being,” Obama said. “The United States will not tolerate the abduction of our people, and will spare no effort to secure the safety of our citizens and to bring their captors to justice.”
