U.S. special forces rescue Somalia aid workers
From Chris Lawrence, CNN
updated 6:41 PM EST, Wed January 25, 2012
U.S. Special Forces parachuted overnight into Somalia from fixed-wing planes, then advanced on foot to a compound holding two kidnapped international aid workers and freed them, U.S. officials said Wednesday. The nine gunmen holding the hostages -- an American and a Dane -- were killed, the officials said.
Jessica Buchanan, 32, and Poul Thisted, 60, had been held since October 25, when they were abducted in Galkayo, central Somalia, after they visited humanitarian projects, said the Danish Refugee Council, the agency for which they worked.
Neither was harmed, the aid group said.
They were taken to a regional medical facility, Pentagon spokesman George Little said Wednesday.
"They are not hospitalized," said Andreas Kamm, secretary-general of the Danish Refugee Council, so "we take it as a sign that they're OK."
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The pair phoned their families from the African nation of Djibouti after the rescue, said Ann Mary Olsen of the Danish Refugee Council, according to Danish TV2 reporter Thorkild Dahl.
Navy SEALs from the unit that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden last year in Pakistan participated in the mission, a U.S. official said, without specifying whether any of the same individuals were on both assaults.
Pentagon spokesman Little said the rescue team included special operations troops from different branches of the military but would not specify which branches.
The SEALs are part of the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, formerly known as SEAL Team Six.
The special forces troops took fire as they fought their way into a compound where the hostages were held, the official said, adding the troops believed that the kidnappers were shooting. The official is not authorized to speak to the media and asked not to be named.
Nine gunmen were killed in the strike, Little said, adding that they had explosives nearby. There were no known survivors among the kidnappers, he added.
The American assault team did not suffer any casualties, the Pentagon said.
The special forces took the hostages from the compound and onto waiting helicopters, the U.S. official said.
The United States was in close contact with Denmark before, during and after the raid, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.
White House spokesman Jay Carney, traveling Wednesday with President Barack Obama to Iowa, said the commander-in-chief learned of the success of the mission at 6:43 p.m. Tuesday, more than two hours before he delivered the State of the Union address.
"The decision to go ahead with this rescue mission was made because there was information concerning the deteriorating health of Ms. Buchanan, as well as a window of opportunity to execute this mission," Carney said.
Obama, who had given the go-ahead at 9 p.m. Monday, was updated on its progress throughout Tuesday, Carney said.
Minutes after concluding his speech, at 10:32 p.m., the president telephoned Buchanan's father to inform him of the mission's success, Carney said.
John Buchanan told CNN he was "flabbergasted" when Obama called up out of the blue.
"He said, 'John, this is Barack Obama. I'm calling because I have great news for you. Your daughter has been rescued by our military.'
"Then he referred to his daughters, obviously had a human element there. Then he said something to the effect of, 'People just can't do this to our citizens, especially young people who are trying to help others.' "
"I'm extremely proud and glad to be an American," Buchanan said. "I didn't know this was going to transpire. I'm glad it did."
He said Jessica was "doing well, under the circumstances."
Buchanan said he planned to fly Thursday to meet his daughter, but he could not say where that would take place.
At his State of the Union address, before news broke of the rescue, Obama told Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, "Leon, good job tonight. Good job tonight."
The hostages were safe at that point, but the mission was not yet complete as the American assault team had not departed Somalia, Little said.
In a statement, Obama thanked the special operations forces for their "extraordinary courage and capabilities."
"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," 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."
Panetta monitored the rescue from the White House, Little said.
In a statement, Panetta called the raid "a testament to the superb skills of courageous service members who risked their lives to save others."
Speaking on ABC's "Good Morning America," Vice President Joe Biden said of the special forces: "It just takes your breath away, their capacity and their bravery and their incredible timing."
Capt. John Kirby, another Pentagon spokesman, said the abductors were ordinary criminals.
"They were kidnappers. We don't have any indication that they were connected to any terrorist group or ideological group at that point," he said.
"They were not Al-Shabaab," Little said, referring to the al Qaeda-linked Islamist militia that holds sway over parts of Somalia.
He said the sense of urgency with regard to the hostage situation had increased from mid-January.
"It's safe to say that within the last week or so, we were able to connect enough dots that we could make the decisions that were made," Kirby said, referring to the intelligence U.S. officials had to go on.
The area where the hostages were seized is known as a hub for pirates, rather than an area of Islamic militant activity.
A number of high-profile abductions of foreigners have occurred in Somalia and in Kenya, close to the largely lawless Somali border.
Some of the kidnappings have been blamed on Al-Shabaab, while criminals seeking ransoms seem to have carried out others.
In an exclusive interview with CNN, Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga congratulated the United States on the rescue and said he supported further U.S. and NATO action on the ground in Somalia.
"We would really like to see more concerted international effort in dealing with issues of international terrorism," he said.
"This action will send a very clearly signal to the Al-Shabaab that it doesn't matter how long they hold (their) hostages, the international community will continue to keep them on the radar."
Kenya sent troops over the border into Somalia in October to take on Al-Shabaab in response to abductions of aid workers and tourists.
The U.S. raid comes nearly three years after Navy snipers killed three pirates who had taken hostage the captain of the Maersk Alabama off Somalia.
U.S. forces did not coordinate the raid with local officials, but residents welcomed the outcome as a warning to other groups to cease the kidnapping of foreigners, said Abdirahman Mohamud Farole, president of Puntland, a semiautonomous region of Somalia.
Thisted, the rescued Dane, is a senior aid worker, said Olsen of the Danish Refugee Council.
Local authorities gave conflicting casualty figures after the raid. Some officials said seven gunmen were killed, but Mohamed Ahmed Aalin, president of Galmudug state, said nine were killed and five others detained by U.S. forces.
The aid workers were part of the Danish Refugee Council's demining unit, which aims to make civilians safe from landmines and unexploded ordnance.
"We have been congratulated from all corners of the Somali society, and we have been told of celebrations in the the capital Mogadishu, in Galkayo and in the streets of Adado, where the local community has worked very hard to help Poul and Jessica," Olsen said. "Their efforts have not been wasted."
Buchanan has been employed as a regional education adviser with the mine clearance unit of DRC since May; Thisted, a community safety manager with the demining unit, has been working in Somaliland and Somalia since June 2009.
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Some boss stuff went down last night. These guys are just amazing. I was wondering why Obama was congratulating Leon Panetta so much last night before the speech.
