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French special forces failed in an attempted rescue of a DGSE agent, who had been taken hostage in 2009 by al-Shabaab, in Bulo Marer, Somalia.
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Bulo Marer hostage rescue attempt
2013 French military operation against Islamist group al-Shabaab in Somalia
On 11 January 2013, the French military launched an unsuccessful operation in Bulo Marer, Lower Shabelle, Somalia to rescue French hostage Denis Allex from the militant Islamist organization al-Shabaab. Allex was executed in response, and two French commandos, at least 17…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Directorate General for External Security
France's external intelligence agency
The Directorate General for External Security is France's foreign intelligence agency, equivalent to the British MI6 and the American CIA, established on 27 November 1943. The DGSE safeguards French national security through intelligence gathering and conducting paramilitary and…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Al-Shabaab (militant group)
Somalia-based Islamist movement
Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujāhideen, simply known as al-Shabaab, or by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Somalia, is a Sunni Islamist militant and political movement based in Somalia. It is involved in the ongoing Somali Civil War as an Islamist group, regularly invoking…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Buulo Mareer
Town in Lower Shebelle, Somalia
Bulo Marer is a town in the southwestern Lower Shebelle region of Somalia. It was a base of Al-Shabaab, and was the site of an ill-fated 2013 military operation during which French commandos attempted to free a French hostage that was being held by the insurgent group. The town…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)