The 2014 hostage rescue operations in Yemen were missions to rescue hostages held by
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula ( ar-at, تنظيم القاعدة في جزيرة العرب, Tanẓīm al-Qā‘idah fī Jazīrat al-‘Arab, lit=Organization of the Base in the Arabian Peninsula or , ''Tanẓīm Qā‘idat al-Jihād fī Jaz ...
(AQAP) in Yemen. The first attempt on 26 November 2014 rescued 8 hostages, but five hostages, including the American journalist
Luke Somers
Luke Daniel Somers (29 August 1981 – 6 December 2014) was a British-born American photojournalist who had been held hostage by the militant Islamist group al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in Yemen. He was a dual citizen of the Unit ...
, were moved by AQAP to another location prior to the raid. The second attempt by
U.S. Navy SEALs
The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main functions are conducting sma ...
once again attempted to rescue the hostages, but Luke Somers and
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
n teacher Pierre Korkie were killed by AQAP during the raid in
Shabwah Governorate
Shabwah ( ar, شَبْوَة, Šabwa) is a governorate (province) of Yemen. Its main town is Ataq.
During the Yemeni Civil War in 2015, the province became a battleground. The battle, known as the Shabwah Campaign, ended on August 15, 2015, af ...
of
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
. Although the majority of hostages had been rescued, the operation was still seen as a failure in the West. The media particularly criticised the inability of American forces to rescue Somers.
First raid and aftermath
On 26 November 2014, a reinforced troop of U.S. Navy SEALs from
DEVGRU
The Naval Special Warfare Development Group (NSWDG), abbreviated as DEVGRU ("Development Group") and commonly known as SEAL Team Six, is the United States Navy component of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). The unit is often referre ...
supported by US-trained Yemeni special forces launched nighttime hostage rescue mission on a small number of caves in
Hadhramaut Governorate
Hadhramaut or Hadramawt or Hadramout ( ar, حضرموت ''Ḥaḍramawt'') is a governorate of Yemen. Lying within the large historical region of Hadhramaut, it is the country's largest governorate.
The capital of Hadhramut is the city of Muka ...
. They landed at an off-set helicopter landing zone several kilometres away and patrolled on foot to the target area. In their assault on the cave, they killed 7 AQAP terrorists with one Yemeni SOF operator minorly wounded. 8 hostages, none American, were freed, but Luke Somers and four others had been moved to another location by AQAP prior to the raid.
The nationalities of the eight hostages rescued were six Yemenis, one Saudi, and one Ethiopian or Nigerian. The SEALs conducted
SSE and
MH-60 helicopters flown by
Nightstalkers extracted them.
On 4 December 2014, AQAP threatened to execute Somers within three days if the US government failed to meet unspecified demands.
AQAP also said that Somers would be killed if another attempt to rescue the hostages was launched.
Second raid
On 6 December 2014, after time sensitive intelligence indicated that an American hostage would be immediately executed by AQAP, 40 SEALs from DEVGRU used
V-22 Ospreys to land 10 km from the compound in the Abadan Valley, where Somers and Korkie were kept at about 1 a.m. local time, according to a senior defense official. An AQAP fighter spotted them when the SEALs were less than 100 yards from the objective
[Neville, Leigh,'' Special Forces in the War on Terror (General Military)'', Osprey Publishing, 2015 , p.304] whilst relieving himself outside, a counter-terrorism official with knowledge of the operation told
ABC News
ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
, beginning a firefight that lasted about 10 minutes. According to
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 48 H ...
, dog barking could have alerted the hostage takers of the operation.
Both the American and South African hostage were immediately shot, while the DEVGRU assault team breached into the compound. The SEALs killed 6 AQAP terrorists
When the American troops finally entered the building where Somers and Korkie were kept, they found both men alive, but gravely wounded.
While a JSOC medical unit who had inserted with DEVGRU began stabilising the wounded hostages, the SEALs secured the area for their extraction.
The US forces pulled Somers and Korkie onto the Ospreys and medical teams began performing surgery in midair. Korkie died during the flight and Somers died after the Ospreys landed on the
USS Makin Island.
The entire operation took 30 minutes. Six AQAP fighters were killed, US officials said. No American troops were killed or injured in the raid.
A video posted on a
Jihadi
Jihadism is a neologism which is used in reference to "militant Islamic movements that are perceived as existentially threatening to the West" and "rooted in political Islam."Compare: Appearing earlier in the Pakistani and Indian media, Wes ...
website showed the fire fight between the Navy SEALs and AQAP fighters.
Reactions
Information "indicated that Luke's life was in imminent danger," said US President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
. "Based on this assessment, and as soon as there was reliable intelligence and an operational plan, I authorized a rescue attempt." He condemned the "barbaric murder" of Somers. "The callous disregard for Luke's life is more proof of the depths of AQAP's depravity, and further reason why the world must never cease in seeking to defeat their evil ideology," Obama said in a statement.
At the time of the raid, US special operations forces were unaware of the identity of the second hostage, Korkie. Korkie's release was imminent and had been negotiated by the South African organization
Gift of the Givers
Gift of the Givers (founded as ''Waqful Waqifin'') is a South African non-governmental organisation and disaster relief group, and Africa's largest independent humanitarian organisation. It was established to offer disaster relief and response, ...
. The organization's leader Dr. I. I. Sooliman said that the failed rescue had "destroyed everything".
In a statement released on 8 December 2014, Somers family said they did not give the green light for the rescue operation and the ordeal could have been solved with more dialogue and less fighting.
See also
* ''
Captive
Captive or Captives may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Captive'' (1980 film), a sci-fi film, starring Cameron Mitchell and David Ladd
* ''Captive'' (1986 film), a British-French film starring Oliver Reed
* ''Captive'' (1991 ...
'', documentary series in which the Pierre Korkie hostage situation was featured.
*
List of kidnappings
The following is a list of kidnappings summarizing the events of each individual case, including instances of celebrity abductions, claimed hoaxes, suspected kidnappings, extradition abductions, and mass kidnappings.
Before 1900
1900–1949
...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hostage rescue operations in Yemen, 2014
2014 in military history
2014 in Yemen
December 2014 events in Yemen
Kidnapped American people
Kidnapped South African people
November 2014 events in Yemen
Operations involving American special forces
United States Naval Special Warfare Command