Two hostages, an American and a Dane were set free from their captors after an elite US special forces carried out rescue operation with yet another daring raid well-executed in the pirate-infested part of the African nation of Somalia.
American Jessica Buchanan and Poul Hagen Thisted of Denmark, were snatched from the town of Galkayo in the Galmudug region last October 2011 while in the area working on de-mining operations.
In a statement released by the White House following confirmation of successful rescue operation, President Barack Obama said “”this is yet another message to the world that the United States of America will stand strongly against any threats to our people.”
The rescue operation involved an undisclosed number of elite troops that were ferried by military helicopters to the pirate camp near Haradheere, considered as a major pirate based in central Somalia.
The Germany-based U.S. Africa Command said in a statement that all nine captors were taken down during the ensuing firefight. Not a single American soldier was killed in the operation, according to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.
The kidnapping of the aid workers in Galkayo was an unusual case since pirate gangs usually attack and seize ships in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden then take the crews for a ransom.
The raid was authorized by Obama on Monday after he was briefed of the entire scenario by the military commanders and Pentagon officials.
U.S. commando raid frees two pirate hostages in Somalia
By Jon Mills
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