U.S. Navy Seal Team Six rescued two hostages overnight.
American aid worker Jessica Buchanan and a Danish colleague were freed from kidnappers in Somalia during a U.S. military raid on Jan. 24, 2012.
Members of SEAL Team Six – the same unit that killed Osama bin Laden – dropped into Somalia by parachute and were engaged in a firefight as they neared the pirate’s compound. Nine pirates were killed, and there were no U.S casualties.
The hostages were transported to U.S. military base Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa.
Djibouti is a Somali, Afar and Muslim country, which regularly takes part in Islamic affairs. Djibouti is also a member of the Arab League, as well as the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). The Afar are an ethnic group in the Horn of Africa. They primarily live in the Afar Region or northern region of Ethiopia and in northern Djibouti.
Djibouti is an independent sovereign state, but maintains deep French relations with military and economic agreements with France which involve security and economic assistance.