History
Famous Hostage Rescue Operations
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Operation↕ | Year↕ | Location↕ | Forces Involved↕ | Known For↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Operation Thunderbolt (Entebbe) | 1976 | Entebbe Airport, Uganda | Israeli IDF Sayeret Matkal | 2,500-mile covert flight, 102 hostages rescued in 53 minutes, Yonatan Netanyahu (PM's brother) killed, gold standard of rescue ops |
Iranian Embassy Siege (Operation Nimrod) | 1980 | London, England | British SAS | Broadcast live on BBC TV, SAS abseiled in with balaclavas, 6 terrorists neutralized in 17 minutes, made the SAS world-famous |
Operation Neptune Spear | 2011 | Abbottabad, Pakistan | US Navy SEAL Team Six | Killed Osama bin Laden after 10-year hunt, stealth helicopter crashed, Obama watched live, buried at sea |
Moscow Theatre Hostage Crisis | 2002 | Moscow, Russia | Russian Alpha Group (FSB) | Pumped fentanyl-based gas into theater with 850 hostages, killed all 40 Chechen militants but 130+ hostages died from gas |
Rescue of Jessica Lynch | 2003 | Nasiriyah, Iraq | US Army Rangers, Delta Force, Navy SEALs | POW rescue from Iraqi hospital, Pentagon promoted as dramatic raid, later revealed some details were embellished |
Operation Jaque | 2008 | Colombian jungle | Colombian military intelligence | Rescued Ingrid Betancourt and 14 others from FARC, tricked guerrillas with fake humanitarian helicopter, zero shots fired |
Beslan School Siege | 2004 | Beslan, North Ossetia, Russia | Russian Spetsnaz | 1,100+ hostages (mostly children) in a school, chaotic assault, 334 dead including 186 children, controversial response |
Air France Flight 8969 | 1994 | Marseille, France (after Algiers) | French GIGN | GIA terrorists planned to crash plane into Eiffel Tower, GIGN stormed at Marseille, all passengers rescued, 9/11 precursor plot |
Maersk Alabama Rescue | 2009 | Indian Ocean, off Somalia | US Navy SEALs (DEVGRU) | Captain Phillips held by Somali pirates, 3 simultaneous sniper shots from USS Bainbridge, made into Tom Hanks film |
Japanese Embassy Hostage Crisis | 1996-1997 | Lima, Peru | Peruvian special forces (Chavín de Huántar) | MRTA held 72 hostages for 126 days, commandos tunneled in, attacked during soccer game, all hostages rescued |
Operation Barras | 2000 | Sierra Leone | British SAS & 1st Parachute Regiment | Rescued Royal Irish Rangers from West Side Boys militia, dawn helicopter assault, freed 6 British soldiers |
Raid on Son Tay | 1970 | Son Tay, North Vietnam | US Army Green Berets | Daring POW camp raid deep in North Vietnam, perfectly executed but prisoners had been moved days earlier, 'brilliant failure' |
Djibouti Bus Hijacking | 1976 | Djibouti (French Somaliland) | French GIGN | 30 schoolchildren held in bus at Somali border, GIGN snipers took out all 4 terrorists simultaneously, textbook precision |
Operation Eagle Claw | 1980 | Iran (Tabas desert) | US Delta Force | Failed attempt to rescue 52 American hostages in Tehran, helicopter crash in sandstorm killed 8 servicemen, led to creation of JSOC |
Mogadishu Hijacking (Operation Feuerzauber) | 1977 | Mogadishu, Somalia | German GSG-9 + 2 SAS advisors | Lufthansa Flight 181 hijacked by PFLP, GSG-9 stormed at Mogadishu, all 86 hostages freed, flashbangs used for first time |
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