Amnesty International has released new figures documenting the number of federal executions worldwide in 2011 after its annual review of worldwide trends. Shockingly, the United States remains near the top of the global list of nations carrying out executions—ranked fifth—with more executions than North Korea, Afghanistan and Somalia combined...

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Navy SEALs raided a Somali compound last night to rescue two aid workers who had been kidnapped in October. Officials believe there is no connection with a largerjihadist group. President Obama alluded to the rescue during the State of the Union address by telling Defense Secretary Leon Panetta: "Leon, good job tonight. Good job tonight." ...

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Navy SEALs raided a Somali compound last night to rescue two aid workers who had been kidnapped in October. The aid workers, American Jessica Buchanan and Dane Poul Thisted, were seized while visiting humanitarian projects in the northern part of the country.

The aid workers were being held in an area that's known to be a major hub for pirates, and officials believe there is no connection with a larger jihadist group. Nine gunmen were killed in the raid.

According to the CNN article:

A number of high-profile abductions of foreigners have occurred in Somalia and in Kenya, close to the largely lawless Somali border.

Some of the kidnappings have been blamed on the Somali Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab, while others seem to have been carried out by criminals seeking ransoms.

President Barack Obama said he authorized the raid. He thanked the Special Operations forces for their "extraordinary courage and capabilities," but did not provide details on the fatalities.

[...] Before news broke of the rescue, Obama told Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, "Leon, good job tonight. Good job tonight," at the State of the Union address. Discuss