Rescue mission

US Special Forces troops flew into Somalia on a rare raid into the Horn of Africa in the early hours of Wednesday morning, rescuing two aid workers and killing nine of the pirate kidnappers in a shootout.

The Danish Refugee Council confirmed Poul Hagen Thisted of Denmark and American Jessica Buchanan had been rescued from their captors and were "on their way to be reunited with their families." Both were working for the Danish De-mining Group in Somalia and were kidnapped in October. The council also said that Buchanan and Thisted were both unharmed.

"This case is special…we are dealing with one of the hostages having an illness which is very serious, and this is the reason there was a decision to go in and take action," Danish Foreign Minister Villy Sovndal said on Danish channel TV 2 News. "We cannot conclude…that it is something that will be done in future cases." Buchanan is believed to be suffering from a possible kidney infection.

Praise from Obama

US and French forces, stationed in the Horn of Africa in response to a spike in piracy in recent years, have launched raids against targets at sea on several occasions but attacks on inland pirate bases have so far been rare.

The helicopter raid in the early hours of the morning was also praised in a statement issued on Wednesday by US President Barack Obama.

"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," the statement read.

Obama also appeared to refer to the mission during his State of the Union address in Washington on Tuesday night, at which point it was already Wednesday morning in Somalia. On arrival in the House chamber, Obama pointed at Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in the crowd and said: "Good job tonight."

Somalia's government also applauded the mission, saying that it welcomed any operation against pirates.

Author: Mark Hallam (AP, Reuters)
Editor: Michael Lawton