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NEWS: Failed Hostage Rescue Op in Nigeria

by · March 9, 2012 · Posted In: Coalition SOF, SOF News
mcmanusBuilding
Details are still sketchy, and we remind people not to jump to conclusions, but it has been reported that a rescue mission mounted by the British SBS has failed to safely recover British Engineer Christopher McManus and Italian citizen, Franco Lamolinara being held captive in Nigeria.  Both men were being held by the forces of Boko Haram, a jihadist organization not unlike the Taliban.  The hostages are reported as having been killed at the hands of their captors before they could be rescued.  While the press is reporting the incident as a joint-mission conducted with the Nigerian military, this is highly unlikely.  Hostage rescue operations require extremely tight Operational Security in order to maintain the element of surprise, critical for mission success in these cases.  The Nigerian forces would never have been trusted with this information, especially with Boko Haram eyes and ears all over the country.

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We will continue to monitor this story for additional details.  At the moment it seems that the British are smoothing over a diplomatic incident with the Italians.  Apparently, the Italian government was not informed until the operation was already underway.

From The Telegraph:

A diplomatic row has broken out over the deaths of two hostages after the Italian president claimed that the British government had not told Rome of the rescue operation.

Branding the situation “inexplicable”, Giorgio Napolitano said that he Italian government was not informed or consulted about the botched mission to rescue Briton Chris McManus and Italian Franco Lamolinara. He called for a political and diplomatic explanation from the UK.

Philip Hammond, the Defence Secretary, hit back, saying: “It isn’t inexplicable. It’s completely explicable what happened.”

He said that the Italian government was “informed” but didn’t specifically “approve” the rescue mission adding that the mission was launched after specific intelligence that the hostages were to be moved and killed.

Read the rest here.

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Gengiskhan6
Gengiskhan6

Here there's the complete assessment story from beginning to end and telling actually also what SBS guys did and how they got in or similar ..

The kidnappers seems are very ideologically driven and they didn't care about money.

 

Something that really is interesting is WHAT THEY WERE asking for. This has not be undisclosed and rasies some questions about the transparence of UK operation.

 

Here is a good article worth reading too : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/nigeria/9132444/British-hostage-murder-SBS-moved-quickly-but-hostages-were-shot-before-they-entered-compound.html

Gengiskhan6
Gengiskhan6

Cool case. Very very sad case.

I have a question: what about who runs the hostage rescue. Why UK and not Italy. I know that comparing the two countries there are different constitutions different fire powers etc, but not different professionalism.

I would like to ask:

 

-- Why not Italian forces, why british forces ?

 

I wish to know more, wtf happened ... what a big shame, it doesn't mean anything that it's a big risk. If it is a big risk you should try to make it be over the shoulder of the best professional you have in the area\ closeby...

 

 

HunterG
HunterG

These kind of stories piss me off.  The Italian government would have let them die anyway without ever trying anything.  And they have the gall to call the op "inexplicable".  Now if the Op had succeeded they would have praised the UK.

 

Long story short for the Italians, don't bitch about something you never planned to do anything about.

Gengiskhan6
Gengiskhan6

The italians didn't do anything it's the media that say things. Remember this.

People force opinions to be of entire people or of someone when there is a stupid media report that is totally invented and is made to create a story and scandal.

 

We actually don't know what happened.

 

I do remember also what ahppened with the hostages, the italian hostages that were running in a car driven by locals who kidnapped these SISMI operators ... italian 007 pratically and one got killed by the US&UK units groups that went in with their choppers to get them .. it came out a car - helicopter race and pratically they also rescued one of the two but this one was also wounded by the bullets and in the end died after couple weeks at the hospital.

 

If you guys abroad say all this STUPID SHIT about Italians ... then I should say that if you have to rescue other people country you plan and care about it with superficial attitude, when you have to do it for your people you do it with your whole are and you make sure the thing has success. You don't get in once the things would run wild.

 

In the end also Arrigoni got killed in Palestine ... he was a great activist who many surely hated .. and nobody knows how he got kidnapped and then strangled some days after before the local police could get where he was held captive.

 

The thing , the sure thing is that UK and US surely have more money then italy to be moved (at least in a larger number of countries) and also power ( in many more places then italy, due to your invasive attitude in your history and nowadays) to make sure the hostages and problems get solved.

 

The things can be hundreds the cases infinte: it might have been that some stupid INTERVENTIONIS attitude has tipped off some intentions and the british had to go in for sure.

 

I wont forget anyway the operation gone well from the CAG I guess that is still viewable in black and white on youtube which rescues italian guy from at seemingly unexisten group of terrorist.

Sometimes it happens that the group is aggressive and well trained some others instead the reasons for keeping the guys are very low and they just have a guard or just abandon the guy because it has got dangerous to keep him.

 

THERE ARE MANY WAYS to get something: you can foster one side or someone insterest or touch them to make your enemy leave the strong hold over the prey.

 

For example: you can have U.S. which trained and fostered the talibans until 20 years ago, with weapons etc, or you can have even Russian doing it with others etc or Israel or even Italians with Lybians etc.

 

Once the party you are sending your weapons gets something wrong does something he shouldn't do you just say. Ok you are doing this shit? Well I wont send you guys anymore anything I will block the port and nobody will send you weapons in the next month. These guys of course on the other side will realease the hostage or realease the holding on that thing they shouldn't have touched...

 

It's not just about tactics, professionalism and especially STORY TELLING (NOWADAYS) media.

It's about being smart. I guess Italians had also friends in Nigeria and could pull some strings or pay the freedom of these guys.

 

We also have rules you don't come to pacts with terrorists .. but often rules are broken .. also you guys anglosaxon people do it a lot with all the shit you do around the World !!

SEAN SPOONTS
SEAN SPOONTS like.author.displayName 1 Like

I think this story serves as a reminder of how easily these missions can go wrong. There are so many tiny variables that can totally screw a mission that it's almost miraculous when they do succeed. This one could have been screwed by a sentry going to take a leak at the wrong time or a dog barking. I'm sure the SBS guys are feeling terrible right now about not being able to save those people. Then there is the mess with the Italians over their national getting killed. And that's another thing, when the mission goes well its all fine and good, but when it goes south it's becomes this huge shit sandwich that everybody has to take a big bite of.

OPR
OPR like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 2 Like

 @SEAN SPOONTS When it goes wrong, the operators usually take all the blame. When it goes right, civilian leaders take undue credit.

jrexilius
jrexilius

Ouch.. That really sucks. Shame they weren't able to go in sooner.

OPR
OPR

If the site was located by SBS operators and Nigerian military on the ground, as claimed by at least one article I've read, then the terrorists could have detected one or several these patrols and prepared themselves accordingly for an imminent rescue operation.

 

I honestly don't how US SOF do hostage rescue on land, but from what I've read I always thought that the site was usually located by harder-to-detect non-SOF intel assets (like drones and CIA informants) with SOF only present on the target when the operation is underway or close to it.

 

I would also assume they forego collaboration with indigenous forces whenever possible.

OPR
OPR like.author.displayName 1 Like

Never mind. I just read the article, they had apparently already decided to kill the hostages when the SBS decided to move in on them.

anirishlad
anirishlad like.author.displayName 1 Like

I heard somewhere that much of the SAS were being pulled out of the A-stan and being used for CT during the London Olympics. However, I fail to see how relevant that is as the games haven't even started yet.

FormerSFMedic
FormerSFMedic like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 2 Like

Wow, this is an interesting story. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out. I'm wondering why the SBS too. I would think SAS would be the logical choice but it could have been a somewhat "hasty" operation as many hostage rescues are time sensitive. I had not heard anything about this in the news, so good on SOFREP for reporting it.

JackMurphyRGR
JackMurphyRGR moderator like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 2 Like

 @FormerSFMedic It will be interesting to see how this plays out.  As you say, the British are saying that the intelligence for this came together quickly and it was a time sensitive target.  That might be a political statement rather than a military one.  From what I understand, hostage rescue operations require a very detailed level of planning.

ArcticWarrior
ArcticWarrior

 @JackMurphyRGR

 In the Brit papers they said they hade to move in during daylight, that things had deteriorated quickly for the hostages and the plan went to shit. Thats a tough nut for any SOF unit.

anirishlad
anirishlad like.author.displayName 1 Like

Great, more friction within the EU, as if the debt crisis wasn't enough.

ArcticWarrior
ArcticWarrior like.author.displayName 1 Like

 @anirishlad

 You know what Italy should be thanking the UK for trying not creating a diplomatic row. You know after the rumours Italy was tipping off the Skins in Mog maybe we all shouldnt trust them....just sayin

Gengiskhan6
Gengiskhan6

Dear Arctic warrior ... this is bullshit, with all the respect, we were tipping also afghansitan, then Uk media wrote it down (just search for it) and actually few months later or even before we discover not only uk was doing it but others. And today (since months, I guess since a year) there have been talks between Talibans and U.S. so ...what's the point... we don't know the truth. The thing is there must be a middle way to do things right, if somebody point his index to someone else, usually that person is the person who is totally corrupted inside and needs to call other like he actually feels and is ..

To brake it down to easy words : if you say somebody is unexperienced it means you are the unexperienced if you say somebody is a corruptor you actually are the corruptor...

@ArcticWarrior 

JackMurphyRGR
JackMurphyRGR moderator like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 2 Like

 @ArcticWarrior  @anirishlad Thats nothing, Italian intelligence pays off the opposition wherever their soldiers deployed to.  My information is that the pay-offs happen with gold bullion, directly to the Taliban in some cases.  This way Italy gets to fufill their political obligations to NATO but without the domestic shit storm that happens if Italy loses even a single soldier to enemy fire.

Riceball
Riceball like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 2 Like

Interesting, why the SBS and not SAS?

JackMurphyRGR
JackMurphyRGR moderator like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 2 Like

 @Riceball I thought the same thing.  It could very well be a cover story.  I've seen Delta operators simply say that they were "Special Forces" for instance.

SEAN SPOONTS
SEAN SPOONTS

@JackMurphyRGR @Riceball It's curious to me that there is no reference to whether the SBS took any casualties. There isn't a denial, a no comment or even a reference to anyone even asking the question. To me, that infers that they might have lost some people. Going in broad daylight increased the risk of losses for sure.

Gengiskhan6
Gengiskhan6

 @SEAN SPOONTS  @JackMurphyRGR  @Riceball I actually appreciate how Daily telegraphs not just shoots its news but also follows entirely the cases developing and telling all the stories as the time goes on. There are very few newspaper which work like that.Here is a video that can tell how it went .. it seems very simplistic how to doubt this ? http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/nigeria/9141421/Philip-Hammond-rescue-attempt-was-best-chance-for-Nigeria-hostages.htmlI don't know why but the movie Forces Speciales (french movie) comes to my mind when I think now to hostage rescue ...

Gengiskhan6
Gengiskhan6

 @SEAN SPOONTS  @JackMurphyRGR  @Riceball You are right Sean... indeed this video in this article by the Telegraph in the ending seconds clearly states it when Cameron thanks the SBS for the effort made in these kind of operation. They don't go in detail but I believe it might have been a mess ... there are different ways in which this might have ended actually.

 

It's really a sad thing. May the familes of the kidnapped be peaceful a day, but nobody will give them justice I believe.

Old PH2
Old PH2

Saw the above over at Long War didn't realize the SBS boys were called into this one.  I know they must be feeling pretty low.  Keep up the good fight.  "By strength and guile"