US forces rescue two hostages in Somalia

A US special forces unit has rescued two foreign aid workers from pirates in Somalia where they were being held for ransom.

The special unit went into the country on Wednesday freeing American Jessica Buchanan and Poul Thisted of Denmark, where they had been taken at gunpoint from the town of Galkayo in October.

The pre-dawn mission is a rare military success for the US in Somalia. 

The kidnappers, nine men in all, were killed.
 
Since a blackhawk helicopter was shot down in Mogadishu in 1994, the US has largely retreated to the sidelines, as Somalia’s neighbours have stepped up their operations in the region.
 
Al Jazeera’s Rosiland Jordan reports from Washington DC.