Paul Tisted & Jessica Buchanan Photos: Danish Refugee Council
In a pre-dawn raid, US Navy SEAL commandos freed two hostages; an American, Jessica Buchanan, 32, and a Dane, Poul Thisted, 60; being held for ransom in a pirate compound 12 miles north of the Somali town of Adado. Members of SEAL Team Six – the same unit that killed Osama bin Laden – are reported to have parachuted in and engaged in a firefight with pirates as they approached the compound. U.S. helicopters landed once the raid was underway and later flew the hostages to a U.S. military base in Djibouti. Nine pirates were reported to have been killed in the assault. No American casualties were reported and the hostages were not injured.
Buchanan and Thisted had been working for the Danish Refugee Council when they were kidnapped on November 25, 2011. At the time, a self-described pirate commented that they had been kidnapped for ransom because attacking ships off the coast was becoming more difficult.
The first hint of the rescue came when President Obama, entering the House chamber in the U.S. Capitol prior to the State of the Union address, pointed at Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in the crowd and said, “Good job tonight.” The president is reported to have authorized the raid on Monday after the US received “actionable intelligence” on the hostages.
The White House released a statement by the president this morning:
“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. … 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.”
According to the International Maritime Bureau‘s piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur, piracy at sea worldwide dropped slightly in 2011 for the first time in five years but Somali pirates are up and continue to be the greatest threat. Somali pirates accounted for 54 percent of the global attacks with 237 cases, up from 219 in 2010. Hundreds of seafarers continue to be held for ransom in Somalia, usually in horrific and inhumane conditions.