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MOGADISHU, Somalia -- 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 himself authorized the mission two days earlier, and minutes after he 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.
"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 Danish Refugee Council confirmed that the two aid workers, American Jessica Buchanan and Dane Poul Hagen Thisted, 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.
A pirate who gave his name as Bile Hussein told The Associated Press he had spoken to pirates at the scene of the raid and they reported that nine pirates had been killed and three were "taken away," which could mean they were captured by U.S. troops. He said the raid caught the guards as they were sleeping after having chewed the narcotic leaf qat for much of the evening.
A U.S. official confirmed local media reports that the SEALs 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.
On Monday, after a top-level security meeting to review rescue options, U.S. national security adviser Tom Donilon briefed Obama on a possible plan that the president authorized, the official said.
"Jessica Buchanan was selflessly serving her fellow human beings when she was taken hostage by criminals and pirates who showed no regard for her health and well-being," Obama said. "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 helicopters and the freed hostages flew to a U.S. military base called Camp Lemonnier in the Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti after the raid. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the information had not been released publicly.
The timing of the raid may have been made more urgent by a 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 and said he had been informed of the action.
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 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."
Ann Mary Olsen, head of the Danish Refugee Council's international department, was the one who informed the family of Hagen Thisted of the successful military operation.
"They (the family) were very happy and incredibly relieved that it is over," she said.
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 and Hagen 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.
US Special forces are the greatest in the world. I congratulate them on yet another successful mission
US Special forces are the greatest in the world. I congratulate them on yet another successful mission
The somalie pirates are known for keeping kidnap victims for a long time negotiating ransom. This kind of action could well result in the pirates becoming more like the mexican cartels. Give a date certain to pay ransom or kill the victims, depositing the bodies in a very public way.
Our teams are the best in the world. I can't say this was the best use of them.
NAIROBI, Kenya -- The families of an American woman and a Danish man rescued by U.S. Navy SEALs from their Somali captors say they are grateful for all the efforts made to rescue the two.
A statement on Friday from the Danish Refugee Council on behalf of the families said that family members are relieved that both escaped unharmed.
U.S. Navy SEALs rescued the two hostages in a pre-dawn raid Wednesday. Nine Somali captors were killed during the raid.
American Jessica Buchanan and Poul Hagen Thisted, a Dane, were kidnapped in October while carrying out demining work.
