An American citizen is among a group of four hostages who have been freed in western Africa following a French special forces military operation that resulted in the deaths of two of their own soldiers, the Elysee announced Friday.
When the news emerged of the raid in May 2019, Fox News decided to treat the news as the main story at the very top of its home page, which ought to help put to rest the French contention (the French paranoia?) that the United States, or at least that conservative-leaning Americans, are so hopelessly into French-bashing that they are never ready to even deign recognizing French heroism.
France said the hostages were rescued Thursday night following a battle in Burkina Faso.
The statement from France said President Emmanuel Macron "bows with emotion and gravity at the sacrifice of our two soldiers, who gave their lives to save those of our fellow citizens".
They were identified as petty officers C�dric de Pierrepont and Alain Bertoncello. A Facebook post by the French Navy added that both men received numerous awards and recognitions throughout their military careers, such as the Gold Level of the National Defense Medal.
The hostages who were rescued, according to France, were a U.S. citizen, a South Korean national, and French nationals Patrick Picque and Laurent Lassimouillas.
The Frenchmen were tourists who were kidnapped during a safari in Benin last week, Reuters reported. The circumstances surrounding the capture of the other two were not immediately clear. �
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