# French soldier killed and hostage feared dead in Somalia



## Crusader74 (Jan 12, 2013)

*French soldier killed and hostage feared dead in Somalia*







 Denis Allex was filmed by his captors
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A French soldier has been killed in Somalia during a failed operation to free a hostage who is also believed to have died, the defence minister said.
Jean-Yves Le Drian told reporters in Paris that a second soldier was missing after the operation.
A battle erupted with al-Shabab militants after commandos swooped on the town of Bolo Mirer overnight.
The raid in east Africa came hours after French troops intervened in the west African state of Mali.
France was "engaged in a merciless fight against terrorism wherever it is found", Mr Le Drian said.
It seems likely that the operation was linked to the intervention in Mali, the BBC's Hugh Schofield reports from Paris.
The French government knew well the intervention would have dangerous implications for the nine French hostages being held across northern Africa, our correspondent says.
Bodies
Mr Le Drian said "all the indications" were that hostage Denis Alex, kidnapped in Somalia in July 2009, had been killed during the operation.
Al-Shabab says Mr Alex was not in the area and was unharmed.
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*“Start Quote*

This morning we saw several corpses including that of a white man”​ Idris Youssouf Bulo Marer resident
Earlier, the French defence ministry said Mr Alex had been killed by his captors.
It also said that two French soldiers had died in the fighting, along with 17 militants in the town in the lower Shebelle region.
"Faced with the intransigence of the terrorists, who refused to negotiate for three and and half years and who were holding Denis Alex in inhumane conditions, an operation was planned and carried out," the ministry said.
"During the assault, violent combat took place."
In a statement, al-Shabab reported a "fierce firelight" that lasted 45 minutes.
Giving no details of its own casualties, the group said it had killed "several" French soldiers and had captured an injured soldier.
Mr Alex, it said, was "safe and far from the location of the battle". An announcement about his fate would be made within two days, the group said, promising "bitter consequences" for the French government.
Eyewitnesses in the town heard fighting during the night, then saw bodies this morning. Up to four helicopters were involved in the operation, they said.
Mohamed Ali, a resident of Bolo Mirer, told AP news agency by phone: "We heard a series of explosions followed by gunfire just seconds after a helicopter flew over the town.
"We don't know exactly what happened but the place was an al-Shabab base and checkpoint."
Another resident of the town, Iris Youssouf, told AFP that details were sketchy because the attack had happened at night.
"But this morning we saw several corpses including that of a white man," he added.
He said three civilians had also died in the fighting.
Hostage appeal
Of the other French hostages, at least six are being held by the al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb group, AFP reports.




Mr Allex, an agent of France's DGSE intelligence service, appeared in a video in June 2010, appealing to France to drop its support for the Somali government.
He last appeared in another video in October, looking gaunt and calling on French President Francois Hollande to work for his release.
Somalia has not had an effective central government for more than two decades.
France has a large military base in neighbouring Djibouti, including army, marine and air force units.
On Friday, President Hollande announced that French forces were supporting an offensive by the Malian government to regain territory captured by Islamist militants in the north.
It was confirmed that French jets had made air strikes as Islamist rebels were forced out of the town of Konna.
Mr Le Drian said a French pilot was killed in the fighting.
Mr Hollande said Islamists had been trying to turn Mali into a "terrorist" state and the French intervention complied with international law and had been agreed with Malian interim President Dioncounda Traore.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20996963


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## Marauder06 (Jan 12, 2013)

3 and a half years, held by Somalis?  I'd WELCOME a rescue attempt at that point, even a high-risk one.


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## AWP (Jan 12, 2013)

And possibly one more captured. 

http://news.yahoo.com/commando-killed-raid-free-hostage-somalia-134619569.html



> MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A French commando raid in Somalia to free a captive intelligence agent ended in the deaths of 17 Islamists and a French soldier. France said the hostage also died in the failed rescue, but the man's captors denied he had been killed and claimed Saturday to have seized a second soldier.


 
"The guts to try."

Blue Skies.


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## TLDR20 (Jan 12, 2013)

Merged.


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## TheSiatonist (Jan 15, 2013)

Fucking savages. I hope they don't do another Mogadishu on the dead soldier.

RIP, brave Commando.



> *Al-Shabaab publishes alleged photograph of dead French commando*
> 
> *Al-Qaeda's army in Somalia taunted Francois Hollande's government by publishing photographs of a dead white man they claimed was a French commando killed during a failed hostage rescue mission at the weekend.*
> 
> ...


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## dknob (Jan 15, 2013)

it doesn't look like the man's body was desecrated/mutilated in any sorts.


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## Diamondback 2/2 (Jan 15, 2013)

dknob said:


> it doesn't look like the man's body was desecrated/mutilated in any sorts.


 

Agree, but his face is blured out. No way to see if they did their standard magazine to the face.


I think the bigger issue (to me) is why did they leave their brothers behind? Not trying to make a stink here, I feel for the unit and the families of these men, but I could not leave brother behind, I would rather die in place then carry that with me the rest of my life.


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## Crusader74 (Jan 15, 2013)

JAB said:


> Agree, but his face is blured out. No way to see if they did their standard magazine to the face.
> 
> 
> I think the bigger issue (to me) is why did they leave their brothers behind? Not trying to make a stink here, I feel for the unit and the families of these men, but I could not leave brother behind, I would rather die in place then carry that with me the rest of my life.


 
I have been mulling over that very thing since the story broke.. No doubt, so are the French ...


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## Diamondback 2/2 (Jan 15, 2013)

Irish said:


> I have been mulling over that very thing since the story broke.. No doubt, so are the French ...


 
Yeah I would not want to be in that team room right now.

I mean no disrespect by my comments, I hope they recover these men and give them the respect and honor they deserve.


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## AWP (Jan 15, 2013)

I have to wonder if a trap was set or if this was another TFR in Mog. 93 where something went wrong and started a chain of events they couldn't control.


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## dknob (Jan 15, 2013)

I've seen the picture without the face blurred out. He was not beaten, he was not tortured. He looked to have died from abdominal wounds and honestly his body treated with semi-respect. Parading his body on twitter is horrid. But we've paraded plenty of dead bodies as well from Iraq and Afghanistan.

I wrote up a piece on SOFREP which has yet to be published. But it starts off with this:

_"Published: October 04, 1993:__ At least five American soldiers were killed and several were wounded today when a Somali militia shot down two American helicopters during United Nations military operations in Mogadishu, Pentagon officials said._
_About 20 members of a faction led by a fugitive Somali fighter, Gen. Mohammed Farah Aidid, were taken into custody during the United Nations operation, including a high-ranking associate of the militia leader, the Pentagon said._
_The operations continued into the night, and Pentagon officials cautioned that details, including the numbers of people killed and wounded, might change as more reports were received."_


We lost 18 men on the ground, bodies were being drug through the streets, two helicopters destroyed, and a pilot was taken captive. Point I'm making is that there is little to none information of what went down during the rescue attempt. Just as the world didn't know shit about what was going on in 1993 (hence the 5 US KIA which would jump to 18 a mere day later)

We now know the truth of what happened in Mogadishu and that "performance failure" is not the reason of the tragedy that unfolded - but nobody knew that October 4th, 5th, or 6th or even weeks after. We should really take a step back and not criticize the French soldiers who participated in this. Because frankly we don't know fucking jack shit and our opinions and assumptions (mine included) is polished shit at best.


Here is a link to the unblurred face of the man https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BAkr-32CMAAO2TG.jpg:large
I don't have to tell you that its a graphic picture.


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## pardus (Jan 15, 2013)

dknob said:


> I've seen the picture without the face blurred out. He was not beaten, he was not tortured. He looked to have died from abdominal wounds and honestly his body treated with semi-respect.
> 
> Here is a link to the unblurred face of the man https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BAkr-32CMAAO2TG.jpg:large
> I don't have to tell you that its a graphic picture.


 
You made your statement about no torture/not beaten from this one picture or you've seen others?

His face has suffered some not insignificant trauma. How do you know he died from abdominal wounds?


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## Crusader74 (Jan 15, 2013)

pardus said:


> You made your statement about no torture/not beaten from this one picture or you've seen others?
> 
> His face has suffered some not insignificant trauma. How do you know he died from abdominal wounds?


 
That jacket he is wearing does not look like any type of French military uniform.. For all we know that is hiding multiple wounds to his body..


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## dknob (Jan 15, 2013)

pardus said:


> You made your statement about no torture/not beaten from this one picture or you've seen others?
> 
> His face has suffered some not insignificant trauma. How do you know he died from abdominal wounds?


My roommate was a Ranger medic and I showed him all the pictures. Based on what he saw he would say that the man bled out from abdominal wounds.


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## pardus (Jan 15, 2013)

dknob said:


> My roommate was a Ranger medic and I showed him all the pictures. Based on what he saw he would say that the man bled out from abdominal wounds.


 
OK, so your statements were nothing more than conjecture then.


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## Rapid (Jan 15, 2013)

This is just my opinion, but I don't think we should be spreading the photos on here. Every hit they get or every webpage that circulates the photos is a win for them. If anyone really wants to see it, it's easily findable on the internet without it needing to be on here too. I'll add some more info on this op later.


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## dknob (Jan 15, 2013)

pardus said:


> OK, so your statements were nothing more than conjecture then.


I just asked him his opinion on how he died.


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## tova (Jan 15, 2013)

RIP, Godspeed, PBS....


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