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Operation Octave Fusion
Part of Operation Enduring Freedom – Horn of Africa
Date January 25, 2012 Location 12 miles north of Adado, Galguduud, Somalia 6°08′25″N 46°37′32″E Result Mission successful Hostages freed
Belligerents
United States	Somali pirates
Strength
24 DEVGRU operators C-130 Hercules	9 pirates
Casualties and losses
None	9 killed

On January 25, 2012, a team of United States Navy SEALs raided a compound 12 miles north of the Somali city of Adado, killing nine Somali pirates and freeing their hostages, American Jessica Buchanan and Dane Poul Hagen Thisted.

Background

In October 2011, Jessica Buchanan and Poul Hagen Thisted, who had been working on a demining project with the Danish Refugee Council, were kidnapped by Somali pirates in Galkayo. Attempts by the Council to enlist local Somali elders and traditional leaders to assist in freeing the hostages were unsuccessful, and the pirates refused an offer of US$1.5 million ransom. With Buchanan's health declining, U.S. officials decided to launch a raid against the pirates using several different United States special operations forces, including elements of the United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group.

Raid

Early on January 25, 2012, two dozen Navy SEALs parachuted from a C-130 Hercules twelve miles north of the Somali town of Adado, Galguduud, where pirates were holding the hostages with the intention of ransoming them. The SEALs then traveled by foot from their drop zone, attacked the compound, and engaged the pirates, killing all nine of them. A first-hand account of the raid appears in former DEVGRU operator Justin K. Sheffield's 2020 book MOB VI: A Seal Team Six Operator's Battles in the Fight for Good Over Evil.

Aftermath

After raiding the pirates' compound and freeing the hostages, the U.S. forces returned to their base at Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti. U.S. President Barack Obama congratulated Defense Secretary Leon Panetta before his 2012 State of the Union address, without publicly revealing any details at that time.

Buchanan gave her first interview about being kidnapped with 60 Minutes in May 2013; amongst her first thoughts when kidnapped were that it was too soon to die without having children and saying goodbye to her loved ones. Buchanan and her husband returned to the United States and now have a son and daughter.

See also

• List of kidnappings
• List of solved missing person cases

References

1. ^ Sheikh, Abdi (January 25, 2012). "U.S. commandos free two hostages in daring Somalia raid". Reuters. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
2. ^ "Navy SEALs who killed Osama bin Laden in rescue of 2 hostages in Somalia: report". NY Daily News/The Associated Press. MOGADISHU, Somalia. January 25, 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
3. ^ Gettleman, Jeffrey; Schmitt, Eric; Shanker, Thom (January 25, 2012). "U.S. Commandos Free 2 Hostages From Somali Pirates". The New York Times.
4. ^ Lawrence, Chris (January 27, 2012). "U.S. special forces rescue Somalia aid workers". CNN. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
5. Pelley, Scott (May 12, 2013). "The Rescue of Jessica Buchanan". 60 Minutes video (15:46). CBS News. Retrieved May 13, 2013.

• 2012 in international relations
• 2012 in Somalia
• 2010s missing person cases
• January 2012 events in Africa
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• Foreign hostages in Somalia
• Formerly missing people
• Hostage rescue operations
• Kidnapped American people
• Missing person cases in Somalia
• Operations involving American special forces
• People captured by pirates
• Piracy in Somalia
• Violent non-state actor incidents in Africa
• Somali Civil War (2009–present)
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