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British Hostages Freed in S. Leone
Six British hostages held by the rebel West Side Boys for over two weeks have been freed after its troops launched a successful military attack at the rebel's militia base early on Sunday, according to a military source reaching here.
The six freed hostages, along with one Sierra Leonean army officer, were safely aboard a Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship off Freetown, capital of the west African country, a spokesman for the British Ministry of Defense was quoted as saying.
Authorization for Sunday's military operation was taken at the highest level, said the spokesman.
It is reported that the military operation was carried out by troops from the elite Parachute Regiment, who were flown into Sierra Leone early last week as a "precautionary measure".
The British troops began military operations early on Sunday at the militia base of the West Side Boys in the Occra Hills to the east of Freetown. However, it is still not clear there might be any casualties in the fighting.
The military attack followed the failure of securing the release of the hostages through negotiations and the rebel's threat to kill their captives.
The abducted soldiers, 11 Britons and one Sierra Leonean, were captured by the West Side Boys on August 25 when they were patrolling along the Freetown-Masiaka highway, and five British soldiers were later released.
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