WASHINGTON: The US provided "limited technical support" to French troops in their failed bid to rescue a hostage being held by an al-Qaida-linked group in Somalia, President Obama said in a letter to Congress.
According to CNN, Obama indicated in his letter that the "United States forces provided limited technical support to the French forces in that operation, but took no direct part in the assault on the compound where it was believed the French citizen was being held hostage."
French forces had conducted a raid where a French soldier and 17 Islamist fighters from the al-Shabab movement were killed. A hostage, a French intelligence agent who was held by the group for more than three years, is missing.
For their part, al-Shabab stressed that the hostage is still alive and that had been transferred to another detention site and noted, in a statement, that his fate would be determined during the next two days. (QNA)
