DARING RESCUE ATTEMPTS
Added on: 17th Feb 2015
WORLD WAR II’S GREAT RAID
Known as the most epic and complex mission of World War II, the
Great Raid happened in January 1945 when 121 volunteer U.S.
Army Rangers set out on a rescue mission to save more than 500
allied prisoners of war who survived the Bataan Death March.
The assault lasted for 30 minutes and freed hundreds of soldiers.
THE RESCUE OF SHIRAN FRANCO
During an earthquake that struck northwest Turkey in 1999, an
Israeli delegation was sent to assist in the rescue of civilians trapped
under rubble. Among the rescued was the nine-year-old Israeli
citizen Shiran Franco who, along with her family, was trapped for a
total of 96 hours. When found, Shiran was severely dehydrated but
miraculously survived. In total, there were 12 survivors
and 140 recovered bodies.
OPERATION BARRAS
Operation Barras took place in 2000, when African rebels known as
the West Side Boys took 11 British soldiers and a local Sierra Leone
liaison officer hostage. Five of these soldiers were rescued via
negotiations however, the remaining seven where rescued using
Special Air Service (SAS) and Special Boat Service (SBS).
The mission ended with one rescuer dead and 12 wounded with one
of the wounded in serious condition. Nevertheless, 25 of the rebel
forces were killed and 18 (including their leader ‘Brigadier’
Foday Kallay) were captured.
MOSCOW THEATER HOSTAGE RESCUE
On October 23, 2002 40-50 armed Chechen rebel fighters allied to
the Islamist militant separatists movement in Chechnya took over
the Dubrovka Theatre. Led by Movsar Barayev, the rebels held
850 hostages and demanded the withdrawal of the Russian forces
from Chechnya. The rescue operation was executed by Russian
Spetsnaz forces who fed an unknown chemical agent into the theatre’s
ventilation system before storming in. This agent however adversely
affected and killed 130 of the hostages. Nevertheless,
all 40 of the rebels were killed.
BESLAN SCHOOL HOSTAGE RESCUE
On September 1, 2004 at School Number One (SNO) in Beslan,
1,100 people were taken hostages by the Riyadus-Salikhin
Reconnaissance and Sabotage Battalion of Chechen Martyrs Group.
Russian security forces stormed the building using tanks and thermobaric
rockets. This rescue operation turned out to be bloody as more than
330 people were killed, about half of them children.
RESCUE OF DR. DILIP JOSEPH OF COLORADO SPRINGS
In 2012, the U.S. special operations team known as SEAL Team Six
set out on a mission to rescue Dr. Dilip Joseph of Colorado Springs.
The doctor was kidnapped by the Taliban outside Kabul, Afghanistan
and was not freed until December 2012. Unfortunately, this
mission left one SEAL dead.
RESCUE OF JESSICA BUCHANAN AND POUL HAGEN THISTED
U.S. Special Forces SEAL Team Six flew to Somalia to rescue
Jessica Buchanan and Poul Hagen Thisted who were taken hostage
by pirates. The rescue operation freed both hostages unharmed and
killed all nine of the Somali pirates.
NIGERIA RESCUE MISSION
The SBS Team, 12 Royal Marines, and Nigerian Forces set out on a
daring mission in Nigeria to rescue Briton Chris McManus and his Italian
colleague Franco Lamotianara from the hands of Al Qaeda. The lives of
the two hostages were considered to be in mortal danger, so the three
teams had no choice but to launch their daring raid. The troops stormed
the compound but sadly the terrorists had already executed the
innocent captives before they could be freed.
FRANCE HOSTAGE RESCUE MISSION
This failed bid to free Denis Allex, a French hostage in south
Somalia from Islamists left two French soldiers and 17 terrorists
killed on January 2013. The operation was launched by the DGSE
secret service of France and was sparked by the “intransigence” of the
Islam terrorists who refused to negotiate. The soldiers were
praised for their remarkable work.
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