Two French commandos killed in Burkina Faso in West Africa while freeing four hostages from US, France and South Korea
- ‘Operation of rare difficulty’ was complicated by discovery of US and South Korean citizens being held with two kidnapped French tourists
- Abductors were on the move, with plans to take captives to Mali
Two French special forces officers were killed on Friday in a military operation in the West African nation of Burkina Faso that freed four people from the United States, France and South Korea who were kidnapped in neighbouring Benin, French officials said.
Four of the abductors were also were killed during the predawn operation in northern Burkina Faso that was carried out to free the two French tourists, French Defence Minister Florence Parly said.
It was “an operation of rare difficulty” that grew more complex with the discovery of the American and South Korean hostages being held with the French citizens, Parly said.
Despite careful planning and American and Burkina support, “no one had any knowledge” of the presence of an American and a South Korean, she said at a news conference.
Contacts with the United States and South Korea “show that these countries were probably not aware of the presence of their two nationals on Burkina Faso territory”, she added.