Post by SAS P&P Admin on Mar 9, 2007 11:57:38 GMT -5
'SAS bid to free kidnapped Britons'
Elite SAS forces are on the ground in remote north-eastern Ethiopia to help secure the release of five kidnapped Britons, it is claimed.
Residents of the regional capital Mekele said they have seen and spoken to SAS operators in the region working to secure the Britons' release.
Foreign Office minister Geoff Hoon said that every effort is being made to ensure the safe return of the kidnapped Britons.
The kidnapped group, which also includes 13 Ethiopian drivers and translators, went missing on Thursday while travelling in Ethiopia's Afar desert, a barren expanse of salt mines and volcanoes 500 miles north-east of the capital Addis Ababa.
The Britons are employees of the British Embassy in Addis Ababa or their relatives.
The Associated Press news agency said one of its cameramen saw two abandoned, shot-up British embassy vehicles on Monday in Hamedali, a remote village that is the last staging post before the area's famous salt lakes.
The vehicles - a Toyota Land Cruiser and a Land Rover Discovery - still had luggage, shoes and mobile phones inside.
The report comes after the Daily Mirror said that a squadron of 60 crack SAS troops had flown to Djibouti, a small country bordered by Eritrea and Ethiopia and close to the desert area where gunmen seized the group.
The newspaper says the unit are members of the SAS's Standby Squadron, troops set up to respond to crises around the world at a moment's notice.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "We would not comment on special forces involvement."
news.uk.msn.com/Article.aspx?cp-documentid=3741703
Also see:
news.uk.msn.com/Article.aspx?cp-documentid=3923924
Elite SAS forces are on the ground in remote north-eastern Ethiopia to help secure the release of five kidnapped Britons, it is claimed.
Residents of the regional capital Mekele said they have seen and spoken to SAS operators in the region working to secure the Britons' release.
Foreign Office minister Geoff Hoon said that every effort is being made to ensure the safe return of the kidnapped Britons.
The kidnapped group, which also includes 13 Ethiopian drivers and translators, went missing on Thursday while travelling in Ethiopia's Afar desert, a barren expanse of salt mines and volcanoes 500 miles north-east of the capital Addis Ababa.
The Britons are employees of the British Embassy in Addis Ababa or their relatives.
The Associated Press news agency said one of its cameramen saw two abandoned, shot-up British embassy vehicles on Monday in Hamedali, a remote village that is the last staging post before the area's famous salt lakes.
The vehicles - a Toyota Land Cruiser and a Land Rover Discovery - still had luggage, shoes and mobile phones inside.
The report comes after the Daily Mirror said that a squadron of 60 crack SAS troops had flown to Djibouti, a small country bordered by Eritrea and Ethiopia and close to the desert area where gunmen seized the group.
The newspaper says the unit are members of the SAS's Standby Squadron, troops set up to respond to crises around the world at a moment's notice.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "We would not comment on special forces involvement."
news.uk.msn.com/Article.aspx?cp-documentid=3741703
Also see:
news.uk.msn.com/Article.aspx?cp-documentid=3923924