US forces free aid workers held in Somalia

MOGADISHU,

US special forces swooped into Somalia to rescue an American and a Dane held by a pirate gang in a pre-dawn raid Wednesday that President Barack Obama said he had personally authorised.

US Navy SEALs aboard at least six military helicopters flew in low over central Somalia to surprise the kidnappers, killing all nine captors in a gun battle, before carrying to safety the two unharmed hostages, held since October.

The daring raid deep inside the war-torn Horn of Africa country was launched because one of the two kidnapped aid workers was sick.

"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," Obama said in a statement issued by the White House.

"This is yet another message to the world that the United States of America will stand strongly against any threats to our people."

The two hostages, American Jessica Buchanan and Poul Thisted, a Dane, who worked for the Danish Refugee Council Demining Group, were unharmed and flown to safety, their employer said.

"At least six military helicopters attacked early this morning... there was heavy shooting that left several of the pirates dead," said Mohamed Nur, a local security official.

"The reports we have is that the freed hostages were flown to Djibouti by their rescuers," he added, referring to the main US military base in the region.

The commando raid on Somali soil is one of the first to have been officially acknowledged by the US, which admits to flying surveillance drones but rarely comments on reported missile strikes against Al-Qaeda-linked militants there.

Buchanan and Thisted were working for the demining unit in central Somalia's semi-autonomous Galmudug region when they were seized by gunmen on October 25.

The kidnappings were the latest in a string of abductions by armed gangs from the war-torn nation, one of the world's most dangerous regions for aid workers.

Somali pirates still hold dozens of hostages -- mainly at sea -- to ransom.

Some pirate gangs have branched out to land-based kidnappings, due both to increased security on ships as well as long periods of monsoon weather making seas too rough to launch a hijack.

Pirates are also believed to be behind the kidnapping of an American writer Michael Scott Moore, who was taken by gunmen from Galmudug on Saturday.

All nine captors were killed during Wednesday's raid, which took place in remote scrubland in the notorious pirate region of Adado in central Somalia, said General Carter F. Ham, head of US Africa Command in a statement.

Ham praised the "courageous, competent and committed" men who carried out the raid, at least 100 kilometres (60 miles) inside Somalia. Navy SEALs were also responsible for killing Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in May.

US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said in a statement that the two hostages had been taken to a "safe location" where they would be evaluated before returning home.

He added that no US troops had been wounded or killed in the operation.

"This successful hostage rescue, undertaken in a hostile environment, is a testament to the superb skills of courageous service members who risked their lives to save others," Panetta said.

Obama appeared to have hinted at the mission ahead of his State of the Union address, when he told Panetta: "Good job tonight. Good job tonight."

Danish Foreign Minister Villy Soevndal said the dramatic raid had been prompted because one of hostages was sick.

Witnesses said the US forces took control of Galkayo airport during the raid with several support aircraft landing there.

One witness, Abdulahi Isa, said he saw at least five helicopters flying over the town on Tuesday night.

"Some of the military helicopters landed at Galkayo airport, and people were stopped from going near there," said Ahmed Dini, another witness.

The commando raid received mixed reactions in Galkayo, with some pleased the hostages were released, but others unhappy at the military action.

"I hate the pirates, but I can't support Hollywood style killing like this, it would be better if the pirates were arrested, face justice and sentenced to 20 years," said Abdullahi Mohamed Jama, a taxi driver.

A lack of effective central government since Somalia plunged into civil war two decades ago has allowed militias to flourish, with Islamist insurgents and pirate gangs ruling mini-fiefdoms.