Seal Team 6.. (Page 1/5)
maryjane OCT 31, 10:25 AM

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An American citizen abducted last week in Niger has been rescued during a high-risk U.S. military raid in neighboring Nigeria, officials told ABC News early Saturday.

The mission was undertaken by elite commandos as part of a major effort to free the U.S. citizen, Philip Walton, 27, before his abductors could get far after taking him captive in Niger on Oct. 26, counterterrorism officials told ABC News.

The operation involved the governments of the U.S., Niger and Nigeria working together to rescue Walton quickly, sources said. The CIA provided intelligence leading to Walton's whereabouts and Marine Special Operations elements in Africa helped locate him, a former U.S. official said.

Then the elite SEAL Team Six carried out a "precision" hostage rescue mission and killed all but one of the seven captors, according to officials with direct knowledge about the operation.

"They were all dead before they knew what happened," another counterterrorism source with knowledge told ABC News.

The Pentagon lauded the rescue mission in a statement.

“U.S. forces conducted a hostage rescue operation during the early hours of 31 October in Northern Nigeria to recover an American citizen held hostage by a group of armed men," said Pentagon chief spokesperson Jonathan Hoffman. "This American citizen is safe and is now in the care of the U.S. Department of State. No U.S military personnel were injured during the operation.

"We appreciate the support of our international partners in conducting this operation."

And Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said: "Thanks to the extraordinary courage and capabilities of our military, the support of our intelligence professionals, and our diplomatic efforts, the hostage will be reunited with his family. We will never abandon any American taken hostage."

ABC News consultant Mick Mulroy, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense and retired CIA officer, said preparations for Walton's rescue likely started when he was abducted.

“These types of operations are some of the most difficult to execute," he said. "Any mistake could easily lead to the death of the hostage. The men and women of JSOC [Joint Special Operations Command], and the CIA should be proud of what they did here. And all Americans should be proud of them. “

U.S. and Nigerien officials had said that Walton was kidnapped from his backyard last Monday after assailants asked him for money. But he only offered $40 USD and was then taken away by force, according to sources in Niger.

MORE: American kidnapped in southern Niger, officials say

Walton lives with his wife and young daughter on a farm near Massalata, a small village close to the border with Nigeria.

Nigerien and American officials told ABC News that they believed the captors were from an armed group from Nigeria and that it was not considered terror-related. But hostages are often sold to terrorist groups.

Concern grew quickly after the kidnapping that an opportunity to rescue Walton could become much more dangerous if he was taken by or sold to a group of Islamist militants aligned with either al Qaeda or ISIS and American special operations commanders felt they needed to act swiftly before that could occur, said one counterterrorism official briefed on the hostage recovery operations.

A U.S. State Department spokesperson confirmed after the kidnapping that an American citizen had been abducted in Niger and said the U.S. government was "providing their family all possible consular assistance." The spokesperson declined to comment on the case, citing "privacy considerations," but added, "When a U.S. citizen is missing, we work closely with local authorities as they carry out their search efforts, and we share information with families however we can."



https://abcnews.go.com/Inte...on/story?id=73940195
sourmash OCT 31, 10:39 AM
Wondering if we'll get the back-story on this? What was he doing living there?
williegoat OCT 31, 12:17 PM

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No U.S military personnel were injured during the operation.
IMSA GT OCT 31, 01:17 PM
Unless I missed something in the story, seems like he dug his own grave by moving to that region yet we wasted the time and could have cost the Seals their lives to rescue him? Hopefully he was someone important, not just some dumb civilian.

[This message has been edited by IMSA GT (edited 10-31-2020).]

IMSA GT OCT 31, 01:32 PM

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Originally posted by sourmash:

Wondering if we'll get the back-story on this? What was he doing living there?



That's what I'm wondering. This type of thing happens every day in different countries yet the Seals get involved with this one?
maryjane OCT 31, 03:24 PM
Yeah..no military personnel should ever risk their lives for any 'dumb civilians'.
That's just a crazy idea.
IMSA GT OCT 31, 04:49 PM

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Originally posted by maryjane:

Yeah..no military personnel should ever risk their lives for any 'dumb civilians'.
That's just a crazy idea.



Correct. If that were the case, I'll just call them the next time I hear noises in my backyard.
sourmash OCT 31, 06:22 PM
Deos his family have a farm there that he was living on? Was he working some for a someone as protection? And if so, was it a politically important person? I'm a pessimist.

Several African countries have White farmers who are being systematically butchered, raped or just robbed by the Blacks to drive them out. South Africa is where you usually read about it. Rhodesia had that happen. It used to known as the bread basket of Africa. Now they can't feed themselves and are begging the White farmers to come back. Zimbabwe was never the bread basket of Africa. It ended when Rhodesia fell. Edit: I guess it probably maintained it for a while but as the White farmers were removed it fell. Journalists still say it as though it wasn't Rhodesia that created and preserved the claim.
In SA there are Black elected legislators publicly calling to kill all the Whites. There are songs about it.

[This message has been edited by sourmash (edited 10-31-2020).]

Boondawg OCT 31, 07:51 PM

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Originally posted by maryjane:

Yeah..no military personnel should ever risk their lives for any 'dumb civilians'.
That's just a crazy idea.



Yup.







It's amazing to me nowadays how supposed "patriotic" Americans have so easily forgotten everything that goes into being The Good Guys.
But than again, i remember expressing this very same thought years ago when i was up-against those here actually defending torture.

It's always been easier to be cruel than kind.
But that's what separates the wheat from the chaff.
blackrams OCT 31, 09:15 PM

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Originally posted by Boondawg:

It's always been easier to be cruel than kind.
But that's what separates the wheat from the chaff.





I have no idea who Phillip Walton is or why he was there but, I'm thankful no American lives were lost in the operation. There's something special about men that will risk everything for something they believe in. If you haven't been there, how can you make the call.............

Rams