Galkayo: Aid Workers Freed in Military Operation

[Jacaylbaro]

The DDG/DRC hostages that are kidnapped in Galkayo last year have been freed by a Military operation late last night. The hostages are unharmed.

 

Watch this space for details ....

[Jacaylbaro]

US helicopters attack a pirate base where the hostages were held. Special US operations unit managed to release the hostages killing 4 militia and wounding some others.

 

AP have an exclusive report to be released soon

[Jacaylbaro]

American hostage in Somalia rescued by US Navy SEALs in overnight raid

 

 

By Jim Miklaszewski, NBC News chief Pentagon correspondent

 

 

WASHINGTON -- In a daring nighttime raid Tuesday, U.S. Navy SEALs rescued two hostages, including one American, who were being held by kidnappers in Somalia, U.S. officials tell NBC News.

 

American Jessica Buchanan, 32, and a 60-year-old Dane, Poul Thisted, were working for a Danish relief organization in northern Somalia when they were kidnapped last October. U.S. officials described their kidnappers as heavily armed common criminals with no known ties to any organized militant group.

According to the U.S. officials, two teams of Navy SEALs landed by helicopter near the compound where the two hostages were being held. As the SEALS approached the compound on foot gunfire broke out, the U.S. officials said, and several of the militants were reportedly killed. There is no word that any of the Americans were wounded.

 

The SEALs gathered up Buchanan and Thisted, loaded them onto the helicopters and flew them to safety at an undisclosed location. The two hostages were not injured during the rescue operation and are reported to be in relatively good condition.

 

The two had been working for the Danish Refugee Council on a demining project in northern Somalia. The humanitarian group has been providing relief to some 450,000 refugees in the Somalia-Kenya border region.

 

News reports at the time said the two were kidnapped Oct. 25 along with a Somali colleague when their three-car convoy was stopped on the way to an airport. A self-proclaimed Somali pirate said they had been kidnapped for ransom by pirates stymied by Western nations' efforts to stop the seizure of ships off the coast. The fate of the Somali colleague was unclear.

 

The first indication of the rescue operation came Tuesday night in Washington from President Barack Obama himself.

 

As the president entered the House chambers to give his State of the Union Speech, he pointed to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta standing in the crowd and said, "Leon. Good job tonight. Good job tonight." The president made no mention of the hostage rescue, but finished his speech with a reference to the killing of Osama bin Laden last May in a similar operation to the one conducted by Navy SEALs Tuesday night.

[Jacaylbaro]

Press releases, From Somalia, DDG

 

 

The Danish Refugee Council hereby confirms that Jessica Buchanan and Poul Hagen Thisted have been rescued earlier today during an operation in Somalia. American Jessica Buchanan and Poul Hagen Thisted from Denmark are on their way to be reunited with their families.

 

After being held hostage for three months American citizen Jessica Buchanan and Poul Hagen Thisted from Denmark have today successfully been rescued from their kidnappers in Somalia.

 

The two aid workers from the Danish Refugee Council’s demining unit, DDG, are both unharmed and at a safe location.

 

The Danish Refugee Council will provide more information on their release when possible through press releases on www.drc.dk

 

Media are encouraged to respect the need for privacy of the two employees and their families. All media inquiries should be directed to the Danish Refugee Council in Copenhagen.

[Dr_Osman]

MOGADISHU Jan 25 (Reuters) - An American and a Danish hostage have been rescued from Somali pirates after three months in captivity, a local security official and the aid group they work for said on Wednesday.

 

"The Danish Refugee Council hereby confirms that Jessica Buchanan and Poul Hagen Thisted have been rescued earlier today during an operation in Somalia," the aid group said in a statement.

 

Mohamed Hussein, a military official in Somalia's Galmudug region, told Reuters the hostages were freed after an operation involving U.S. military helicopters. (Reporting by Abdi Sheikh in Mogadishu and John Acher in Copenhagen; Editing by Richard Lough and Louise Ireland)

[Jacaylbaro]

STUTTGART, Germany,

Jan 25, 2012 — By the order of the President of the United States and under the direction of U.S. Africa Command (U.S. AFRICOM), early Wednesday morning, January 25, 2012, U.S. Special Operations Forces rescued an American citizen and a Danish citizen from captivity in Somalia.

 

Mrs. Jessica Buchanan of the United States and Mr. Poul Thisted of Denmark, who both worked for the Danish Demining Group, a non-profit humanitarian organization, were kidnapped at gunpoint on October 25, 2011, near Galcayo, Somalia, and were being held for ransom.

 

The Department of Justice requested assistance from the Department of Defense, which, in turn, directed U.S. AFRICOM to plan and conduct the rescue operation.

 

Receiving actionable intelligence, U.S. Special Operations Forces conducted a coordinated operation in the vicinity of Gadaado, Somalia. During the course of the operation, the rescue force patrolled to the location and confirmed the presence of Mrs. Buchanan and Mr. Thisted guarded by nine captors. All nine captors were killed during the assault. After securing the location, U.S. Special Operations Forces found Mrs. Buchanan and Mr. Thisted unharmed in the outdoor encampment.

 

"Last night's mission, boldly conducted by some of our nation's most courageous, competent, and committed special operations forces, exemplifies United States Africa Command's mission to protect Americans and American interests in Africa," said General Carter F. Ham, commanding general, U.S. Africa Command. "I am extraordinarily proud of the joint-service team that planned, rehearsed and successfully concluded this operation. Thanks to them, a fellow American and her Danish co-worker are safe and will soon be home with their families. We should remember that Mrs. Buchanan and Mr. Thisted were working to protect the people of Somalia when they were violently kidnapped. It is my hope that all those who work in Somalia for the betterment of the Somali people can be free from the dangers of violent criminals."

 

At the time of their abduction, Ms. Buchanan and Mr. Thisted had finished conducting a demining training course for local Somali citizens.

[Jacaylbaro]

A U.S. official says the Navy SEAL team that rescued two hostages in Somalia was the same unit that killed Osama bin Laden.

 

SEAL Team Six parachuted into Somalia under cover of darkness Wednesday and rescued an American woman and a Danish man from an outdoor camp where they were being held by Somali pirates, the official said.

 

The same team executed the mission last May in which al-Qaida leader bin Laden was killed.

 

The U.S. official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the top secret operation.