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Navy SEALs Raid Somalia Pirate Base, Rescuing Two Hostages

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Dane Poul Hagen Thisted, left, and American Jessica Buchanan. U.S. military forces flew into Somalia in a nighttime raid and freed the two hostages while killing nine pirates, officials and a pirate source said. (AP)
Dane Poul Hagen Thisted, left, and American Jessica Buchanan. U.S. military forces flew into Somalia in a nighttime raid and freed the two hostages while killing nine pirates, officials and a pirate source said. (AP)

SEAL Team Six, the same team that killed Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan last year, raided a Somali pirate camp Wednesday to rescue an American woman and Danish man being held hostage.

Both are aid workers who had been kidnapped by the pirates last October. Nine pirates were killed in a firefight during Wednesday's attack, and another five were taken as prisoners.

The raid occurred around 2 a.m. Somali time, and President Obama had been notified of its success shortly before he gave last night's State of the Union speech to Congress.

Guest:

  • Will Ross, East Africa Correspondent for the BBC

This segment aired on January 25, 2012.

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