2020 Nigeria hostage rescue

2020 Nigeria hostage rescue
Date31 October 2020
Location
Northern Nigeria
Result

Mission success

  • Hostage rescued
Belligerents
 Gunmen
Units involved

Joint Special Operations Command

United States Air Force United States Air Force

Pre mission intelligence and support:

Strength

c. 30 Navy SEALs and special operations personnel

Aircraft:[4]

7 gunmen
Casualties and losses
None 6 killed

During the early hours of October 31, 2020, United States Navy SEALs from the Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU) conducted an operation in Northern Nigeria, resulting in the rescue of an American hostage and the killing of six of the seven captors.[5][6] The hostage, 27-year-old Philip Walton, had been kidnapped in front of his family at his home in the village of Massalata in neighboring Niger on 26 October by armed gunmen, who intended to sell him to armed terrorist groups in the area.[7][8][9][10][11]

  1. ^ "Nigeria: U.S., Niger, Nigeria Coordinated to Rescue American Hostage". November 2020.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference military.com was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Meek, James Gordon; Castano, Aicha El Hammar; Finnegan, Conor (31 October 2020). "American hostage Philip Walton rescued in dramatic military operation: Officials". ABC News. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  4. ^ Cenciotti, David (9 November 2020). "Dissecting The U.S. Hostage Rescue Operation In Nigeria: Here Are All The Assets That Took Part In The Raid". The Aviationist. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  5. ^ Slotkin, Jason (31 October 2020). "U.S. Special Operations Forces Rescue American Hostage in Nigeria". NPR.
  6. ^ "US special forces rescue abducted American in Nigeria, officials say". TheGuardian.com. 31 October 2020.
  7. ^ Ahlijah, Mawulolo (31 October 2020). "Niger : l'otage américain enlevé à Massalata a été libéré par les Forces spéciales US". Agence Ecofin (in French). Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  8. ^ Schmitt, Eric (October 31, 2020). "Navy Commandos Rescue American Kidnapped in Niger". New York Times.
  9. ^ Starr, Barbara; Browne, Ryan (31 October 2020). "US special operations forces rescue American citizen held hostage in Nigeria". CNN.
  10. ^ McNamara, Audrey (31 October 2020). "SEAL Team 6 rescues U.S. citizen Philip Walton in Nigeria". CBS News.
  11. ^ Gaouette, Nicole; Lister, Tim (27 October 2020). "US citizen abducted in Niger, State Department says". CNN.