By ABDI GULED, KATHARINE HOURELD and KIMBERLY DOZIER
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — U.S. Navy SEALs
parachuted into Somalia under cover of darkness early 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 authorized the mission by SEAL Team 6 two days earlier, deploying the same unit that killed Osama bin Laden
last year. Minutes after the president 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.
The Danish Refugee Council confirmed the two aid workers, American Jessica Buchanan and Poul Hagen Thisted, a Dane, 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.
The
raiders came in quickly, catching the guards as they were sleeping
after having chewed the narcotic leaf qat for much of the evening, a
pirate who gave his name as Bile Hussein told The Associated Press by
phone. Hussein said he was not present at the site but had spoken with
other pirates who were, and that they told him nine pirates had been
killed in the raid and three were "taken away."
The
hostage rescue was carried out by the same SEAL unit behind the
operation in Pakistan last May that killed bin Laden, two U.S. officials
said on condition of anonymity to discuss the operation. It was not
clear if any members participated in both operations. The unit is the
Naval Special Warfare Development Group, also known as SEAL Team 6.
One official said that the team
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. A Danish Refugee Council official, Mary Ann Olsen, said that Buchanan was "not that ill" but needed medicine.
"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
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."
A Western official said the rescuers and the freed hostages
flew by helicopter to a U.S. military base called Camp Lemonnier in the
Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti. Both officials spoke on condition of
anonymity because the information had not been released publicly.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta visited Camp Lemonnier just over a month
ago. A key U.S. ally in this region, Djibouti has the only U.S. base in
sub-Saharan Africa. It hosts the military's Combined Joint Task
Force-Horn of Africa.
The
timing of the raid may have been made more urgent by Buchanan's medical
condition. The Danish Refugee Council had been trying to work with
Somali elders to win the hostages' freedom but had found little success.
"One
of the hostages has a disease that was very serious and that had to be
solved," Danish Foreign Minister Villy Soevndal told Denmark's TV2
channel. Soevndal did not provide any more details. Soevndal
congratulated the Americans for the raid.
The
Danish Refugee Council said both freed hostages are unharmed "and at a
safe location." The group said in a separate statement that the two "are
on their way to be reunited with their families."
Olsen
informed Thisted's family of of the successful military operation and
said "they were very happy and incredibly relieved that it is over."
Olsen said the two freed hostages were in Djibouti and would soon be
moved to a "safe haven." She said Buchanan does not need to be
hospitalized.
"One of the first things Poul and
Jessica were able to do was to call their families and say they were
freed," Olsen said. "They will be reunited with their families as
quickly as possible," Olsen said.
The
head of the Danish Refugee Council, Andreas Kamm, said he would have
preferred to see the two hostages freed peacefully after working with
Somali groups to win the pair's freedom, "but we're happy with the
outcome. This is a day of joy indeed."
The
two aid workers appear to have been kidnapped by criminals — sometimes
referred to as pirates — and not by Somalia's al-Qaida-linked militant
group al-Shabab. As large ships at sea have increased their defenses
against pirate attacks, gangs have looked for other money making
opportunities like land-based kidnappings.
The
Danish Refugee Council had earlier enlisted traditional Somali elders
and members of civil society to seek the release of the two hostages.
"We
are really happy with the successful release of the innocents kidnapped
by evildoers," said Mohamud Sahal, an elder in Galkayo town, by phone.
"They were guests who were treated brutally. That was against Islam and
our culture ... These men (pirates) have spoiled our good customs and
culture, so Somalis should fight back."
Buchanan
lived in neighboring Kenya before Somalia, and worked at a school in
Nairobi called the Rosslyn Academy from 2007-09, said Rob Beyer, the
dean of students. He described the American as quick to laugh and
adventurous.
"There have been tears on and around the campus today," Beyer said. "She was well-loved by all her students."
Buchanan
graduated in 2006 from Valley Forge Christian College, a small suburban
Philadelphia school. The school's president, the Rev. Don Meyer, said
Buchanan taught at Rosslyn as part of her studies and "fell in love with
Africa."
"Ever since Jessica
was captured, we all as a community have been praying for her safety and
for her safe release," Meyer said. "We are also grateful that our
prayers have been answered."
Buchanan
and Thisted were seized in October from the portion of Galkayo town
under the control of a government-allied clan militia. The aid agency
has said that Somalis held demonstrations demanding the pair's quick
release.
Their Somali colleague was detained by police on suspicion of being involved in their kidnapping.
The
two hostages were working in northern Somalia for the Danish Demining
Group, whose experts have been clearing mines and unexploded ordnance in
conflict zones in Africa and the Middle East.
Several
hostages are still being held in Somalia, including a British tourist,
two Spanish doctors seized from neighboring Kenya, and an American
journalist kidnapped on Saturday.
___
Associated
Press reporters Julie Pace in Washington, Jason Straziuso in Nairobi,
Kenya, Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Patrick Walters in
Philadelphia contributed to this report. Houreld reported from Nairobi
and Dozier from Washington.
___
Follow Katharine Houreld at http://twitter.com/khoureld
This combination photo made from undated images provided by the Danish Refugee Council shows Dane Poul Hagen Thisted, left, and American Jessica Buchanan. U.S. military forces flew into Somalia in a nighttime raid Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012.
