The US commandos intervene. The hostages of the Danish NGO DDG are free
(BRUSSELS2) Dane Poul Hagen Thisted and American Jessica Buchanan are free. American special operations commandos released Somali pirates who were holding them prisoner, the two members of the Danish NGO Danish Demining Group (member of the Danish Refugee Council) during a raid carried out overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday. Under cover of the darkness, the six helicopters from Djibouti landed near the camp of the Somali pirates located not far from the town of Galkayo.
9 pirates killed
The men of Navy Seal 6 did not hesitate. During the firefight, 9 of the pirates were killed while 5 others were captured. No injuries are to be deplored on the American side. " The hostages are well and have been brought to safety ” made a point of specifying the US defense. The hostages had been captured last October near Galkayo, hoping to get a good price. It didn't bring them luck. The Americans left them no choice. The news of the release was officially commented on in Washington this morning by President Obama: The United States will not tolerate the taking of our people hostage, and will spare no effort to ensure the safety of our citizens and bring their captors to justice. This is our message too: the United States will stand firm against all threats to our people.. »
"Well done"
The day before, while delivering his State of the Union address to Congress, a key moment in the political life of a president, especially during an election campaign, Obama shook hands with Panetta, his Minister of Defense. , telling him "good job"; cryptic message that had only been understood by the person concerned; no one knew then what he was talking about. " This successful hostage release, carried out in a hostile environment, is proof of the superb skill of the members of our service who risked their lives to save those of others. “recalled for his part the Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta.
Comment: this intervention is intended to put a stop to the evolution of the tactics of pirates who, unable to find anything at sea to fuel their "business", turn to the kidnapping of Westerners on land or the purchase of people already captured in Somalia or in neighboring regions (mainly Kenya). They still have a Briton and two Spaniards "bought" from Al Shabaab to renegotiate. While a French hostage - an agent of the DGSE - is still in the hands of Al Shabab.
Read also: Hackers 'buy' 2 MSF hostages from Al-Shabaab
