U.S. Navy SEALs Rescue 2 Aid Workers From Somalia, 9 Somali Pirates Killed In Helicopter Operation

Whoa! A daring rescue of two aid workers who had been captured in Somalia by Somalian pirates - one worker being American and the other Danish was performed successfully last night by U.S. Navy SEALs in Somalia - both hostages are fine, all SEALs are okay, nine Somali pirates appear to have "Heckler and Koch syndrome."

From the report at the L.A. Times:

U.S. military forces carried out a dramatic helicopter rescue overnight in Somalia, freeing two Western aid workers taken hostage by pirates.

Jessica Buchanan, a 32-year-old American, and Poul Hagen Thisted, 60-year-old Dane, both from the Danish Demining Group had been kidnapped in October in the central Somali town of Galkayo, which until then had been considered relatively safe for Westerners.

Early Wednesday, the Danish Refugee Council, of which the demining group is a part of, confirmed the successful rescue operation of the two aid workers.

The overnight raid was carried out by U.S. military hellicopters and Navy seals operating out of an American base in the tiny east African nation of Djibouti. After the mission, they returned to the Djibouti base with the two.

Witnesses reported a gun battle that left several pirates dead, according to news agencies. Both hostages were unharmed in the rescue.

The AP reported that Bilal Hussein, a pirate, said he had been informed by other at the scene that nine pirates has been killed.

Let's face it, a rescue attempt in Somalia is enough to get anyone's stomach in a pit but it appears that this operation went down like clockwork - I'm sure the Somali pirates had no idea what hit them until it was far too late.

One thing I'd like to throw out here to Rep. Ron Paul...under your direction, our SEALs would have been stationed in Virginia or California - perhaps you can describe at the next debate Congressman Paul just how this operation would have been pulled off by our SEALs traveling from California as opposed to the strategic small base in Djibouti.

Once again, America is extremely proud of our fighting men and women!

U.S. helicopter raid frees two aid workers from Somali pirates


Jessica Buchanan, a 32-year-old American, and Poul Hagen Thisted, 60-year-old Dane, both from the Danish Demining Group had been kidnapped in October in the central Somali town of Galkayo, which until then had been considered relatively safe for Westerners.

Early Wednesday, the Danish Refugee Council, of which the demining group is a part of, confirmed the successful rescue operation of the two aid workers.

The overnight raid was carried out by U.S. military hellicopters and Navy seals operating out of an American base in the tiny east African nation of Djibouti. After the mission, they returned to the Djibouti base with the two.

President Barack Obama appeared to refer to the mission just before the State of the Union address when he looked at Defense Secretary, Leon Panetta, and said "Good job tonight."

The October kidnapping was one of a series of kidnappings of Westerners by Somali pirates in a bid to extort high ransoms. Several kidnappings occured late last year in Kenya, Somalia's southern neighbor, triggering a Kenyan invasion in a bid to restore a stable government, which continues to this day.

Western diplomats and aid workers have been using Galkayo as a base or entry point into Somalia, with diplomatic activity on the rise since the radical Islamic rebel group Al Shabab abandoned the capital Mogadishu and retreated to its southern stronghold.

Witnesses reported a gun battle that left several pirates dead, according to news agencies. Both hostages were unharmed in the rescue.

The AP reported that Bilal Hussein, a pirate, said he had been informed by other at the scene that nine pirates has been killed.

A second pirate, Ahmed Hashi, said two helicopters attacked at about 2 a.m. the pirate compound about 12 miles north of the Somali town of Adow.

Underscoring the growing dangers of operating from Galkayo, an American engineer was kidnapped there Saturday. Many other hostages remain in Somalia, including a British tourist, several other aid workers, shipping crews and others.