Rescuers in Yemen Sought American, Officials Say
By
<
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/eric_schmitt/i
ndex.html> ERIC SCHMITT and SAEED AL BATATI
NOV. 27, 2014
WASHINGTON - An American journalist held hostage in a remote part of eastern
<
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/ye
men/index.html?8qa&module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Ar%2C%7B%221%22%3A%22RI%
3A8%22%7D> Yemen by
<
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/a/al_qaed
a/index.html?inline=nyt-org> Al Qaeda's affiliate there was one of the main
targets of a predawn raid carried out this week by United States Special
Operations commandos and Yemeni troops, according to American and Yemeni
officials.
But when the commandos swooped in on the mountain cave where they believed
the American was being held, they found eight other hostages, including six
Yemenis, but not the American.
At the request of the Obama administration, The New York Times withheld this
information in an
<
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/26/world/middleeast/us-led-raid-rescues-eigh
t-held-in-yemen.html> article published online Tuesday and in print
Wednesday out of concern that the publicity could jeopardize the American's
safety and future rescue attempts.
But in
<
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/ye
men/index.html?inline=nyt-geo> Yemen on Wednesday, the military gave an
account from a freed hostage who told his rescuers that five other hostages
- including the American journalist, a Briton and a South African - were
moved from the cave two days before the raid.
The Yemeni account of the rescue operation appeared in a report published on
a <
http://www.26sep.net/> Defense Ministry website, known as 26 September,
that Yemeni military officials frequently use to disseminate details of
their operations. The details in the report were provided by a Yemeni
counterterrorism soldier identified as Abu Ma'arouf, who participated in the
rescue operation, according to the website.
The Times is withholding the name of the American journalist.
The National Security Council and the Defense Department declined to
comment. The journalist's family has not responded to emails seeking comment
about his captivity.
The commandos' risky dash into a remote, oil-rich province crawling with
militants belonging to
<
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/a/al_qaed
a_in_the_arabian_peninsula/index.html?8qa&module=Search&mabReward=relbias&>
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was organized on short notice, within two
weeks of a request from President
<
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/h/abdu_rabbu_man
sour_hadi/index.html?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Ar%2C%7B%221%22%3A%22R
I%3A8%22%7D> Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi of Yemen to help rescue the captives,
American officials said.
About two dozen members of the Navy's elite SEAL Team 6, joined by a few
American-trained Yemeni counterterrorism soldiers, flew secretly by
helicopter to a location in Hadhramaut Province near the Saudi border,
according to officials from both countries. The commandos then hiked several
hundred yards in the dark to a mountainside cave, where they surprised the
militants holding the captives.
The operation appeared to be at least partly an attempt to bolster the
stature of Mr. Hadi, a committed but beleaguered United States ally whose
authority was badly undercut when a rebel group suddenly
<
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/22/world/middleeast/yemens-prime-minister-re
signs-amid-chaos-and-another-cease-fire.html?module=Search&mabReward=relbias
%3Ar%2C%7B%221%22%3A%22RI%3A8%22%7D> seized control of Yemen's capital in
September.
In a sign of the administration's concern for Mr. Hadi, Lisa Monaco,
<
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/o/barack_obama/i
ndex.html?inline=nyt-per> President Obama's counterterrorism adviser, called
the Yemeni president on Wednesday to commend the efforts of his new
government to carry out changes it promised after Mr. Hadi's predecessor,
<
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/ali_abdullah_s
aleh/index.html?8qa&module=Search&mabReward=relbias&> Ali Abdullah Saleh,
stepped down two years ago, according to a statement issued by the White
House.
"Ms. Monaco and President Hadi also reaffirmed the enduring partnership
between the United States and Yemen to counter the shared threat from Al
Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula," said the short statement, which did not
mention the hostage rescue.
<
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/27/world/middleeast/rescuers-in-yemen-sought
-american-journalist-officials-say.html?_r=0#story-continues-5> Continue
reading the main story
<
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/27/world/middleeast/rescuers-in-yemen-sought
-american-journalist-officials-say.html?_r=0#story-continues-5> Continue
reading the main story
In the report on the Defense Ministry website, Abu Ma'arouf said the
intelligence that led to the raid included information that Al Qaeda had
transported 11 shackled hostages to a cave about 65 miles from Seiyun city,
near the border with Saudi Arabia.
"The intelligence investigation indicated that among the hostages were some
foreigners," Abu Ma'arouf was quoted as saying, while adding that the rescue
plan called for "30 airborne antiterrorism soldiers."
The report made no mention of the role of United States forces in the rescue
effort. Abu Ma'arouf said Yemeni forces stormed the cave, setting off
clashes with seven militants who were killed instantly. One Yemeni soldier
was lightly injured in the clashes, the article said.
During the evacuation of the freed hostages, Yemeni troops found mobile
phones and documents linked to Al Qaeda, according to Abu Ma'arouf, who said
one of the freed hostages told Yemeni soldiers that the five other hostages
who were moved included an American journalist, as well as citizens of
Britain, South Africa, Turkey and Yemen.
No names were provided for the hostages who were moved, except for the
Yemeni citizen, who was referred to in the article only as "Al-Habashi."
It may have been a reference to a Yemeni man, Rashed al-Habishi, who was
kidnapped in June and accused by Al Qaeda in a recent statement of being a
senior intelligence agent who collaborated with the United States. Mr.
Habishi's family has said that while he once worked in Yemen's security
services, he quit almost a decade ago and worked in a government-run
electricity company.
Received on Thu Nov 27 2014 - 16:56:01 EST