Two French tourists rescued from militants who held them hostage in the African nation of Burkina Faso thanked the soldiers who “lost their lives to free us from this hell.”

“All our thoughts go out to the families of the soldiers and to the soldiers,” said Laurent Lassimouillas, one of the hostages, the BBC reported.

Lassimouillas and Patrick Picque, both music teachers, were kidnapped May 1 while on safari in Pendjari National Park in northern Benin, on the border with Burkina Faso.

The raid to rescue them by French special forces also turned up an American woman and a South Korean woman, who were freed, but have not yet been publicly identified. The two women had been in the kidnappers’ hands for 28 days.

French special forces soldiers Cédric de Pierrepont and Alain Bertoncello died during the raid. Four kidnappers were also killed.

Lassimouillas and Picque were traveling in an area the French government advises its citizens to avoid. Their Beninese driver and guide were killed by the kidnappers. </s> Emmanuel Macron greeted three hostages rescued from a Burkina Faso militant camp as they arrived in Paris today as they paid tribute to the two French special forces commandos who died 'freeing them from hell'.

The French president spoke to the hostages as they disembarked from the plane sent to fetch them at the Villacourblay military airport south west of Paris.

Earlier today, Frenchmen Laurent Lassimouillas and Patrick Picque and an unidentified South Korean woman spoke on the steps of Kosyam Presidential Palace in Ouagadougou.

They hailed the sacrifice made by naval officers Cédric de Pierrepont and Alain Bertoncello who were killed during the military operation.

Mr Lassimouillas said: 'All our thoughts go to the families of the soldiers and to the soldiers who lost their lives to free us from this hell.

'We wanted to present our condolences right away to those families because we feel ambivalent about everything that happened to us.'

An American woman who had been kidnapped was also liberated by the commandos, but is already being flown back to the United States.

Lassimouillas also expressed regret over the death of the Beninese park guide, who was killed when the French two tourists were snatched while on safari in northern Benin before being bundled across the border into Burkina Faso.

The men, both music teachers, are expected to travel back to France on Sunday.

French officials said on Friday that it was not yet clear who had kidnapped them in Benin but described their captors in Burkina Faso as 'terrorists' who planned to hand them over to an al Qaeda affiliate in neighbouring Mali.

Today, the three freed hostages still in the west African country met with President Roch Kabor.

The operation took place in a bid to free two French tourists, Patrick Picque and Laurent Lassimouillas, who had disappeared in the remote Pendjari National Park in Benin on May 1.

A statement from the Élysées Palace about the hostage raid said: 'Their liberation was made possible by a military operation led by French forces overnight from Thursday to Friday in northern Burkina Faso.

'During the operation two soldiers were killed in action, Cédric de Pierrepont and Alain Bertoncello, both petty officers under the command of special operations.'

South Korea's ambassador in Paris was unable to comment on the identity of the freed Korean national.

'We do not have detailed information, but we are in close contact with French authorities. I can't say anything now,' Jongmoon Choi said.

The US embassy in Paris was unavailable for comment.

French President Emmanuel Macron expressed condolences for the two soldiers killed in the overnight operation.

'[The] president wants to congratulate the French armed forces for the liberation of the hostages, and includes everyone who worked alongside them,' a statement from the presidency said.

'He bows with emotion and solemnity before the sacrifice of our two soldiers who gave their lives to save those of our citizens.'

Admiral Christophe Prazuck, chief of staff of the French navy, said he admired the soldiers' courage.

He said yesterday: 'Cédric de Pierrepont and Alain Bertoncello, of Commando Hubert, died last night in battle in a hostage release operation. I admire their courage, I share the pain of their families and their loved ones.'

Pierrepont finished first in 47 of his basic training courses and reached the commando stage a year-and-a-half later, the navy said.

He won four medals and was a decorated 'combat swimmer' and gained accolades for operations in Sahel and Lebanon.

Bertoncello also won medals for swimming and took part in operations in the Seychelles and Qatar.

In a separate statement, Defence Minister Florence Parly thanked authorities in Benin and Burkina Faso, as well as the United States for its 'precious support' in the operation.

Neither statement indicated who was holding the tourists or the identity of the other two people who were released.

Islamic extremists have become increasingly active in Burkina Faso, raising worries the militants could be infiltrating northern Benin and neighboring Togo as well. </s> French commandos rescued four foreign hostages including two French citizens from a militant group in Burkina Faso, France’s military said on Friday, adding that two of the elite soldiers were killed in the night-time operation.

French special forces carried out the raid under cover of dark over the night of Thursday-Friday, supported by U.S. intelligence and troops from France’s Barkhane operation deployed in the Sahel region to counter Islamist militants.

All four hostages were safe, President Emmanuel Macron’s office said, adding that a U.S. woman and a South Korean woman were also freed in the covert operation.

“The precise and determined actions of French soldiers allowed us to take out the kidnappers while protecting the lives of the hostages,” France’s army chief Francois Lecointre told a news conference, describing the militant group as “terrorists”.

Four kidnappers were killed and two escaped, he said.

“Those who attack France and the French know that we will spare no effort to track them and take them out. We will never abandon our citizens,” Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly told reporters.

The French forces had not been aware of the presence of the U.S. and South Korean hostages ahead of the operation and they had been held for 28 days, Lecointre said.

“We were not aware of their presence … the American will be repatriated separately,” Parly said.

“The contacts (with those countries) show that these countries were not necessarily aware of their presence.”

A spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department said the United States was grateful for the successful recovery of the hostages, including a U.S. citizen, and offered condolences to the families of the two solders killed.

“The successful operation demonstrates the importance of our historic alliance with France. We reaffirm our solidarity with the people of Burkina Faso and Benin in the face of these threats,” she said.

South Korea had confirmed the identity of the South Korean hostage, a woman in her 40s, its foreign ministry said.

South Korea offered condolences to the families of the soldiers killed and was sincerely grateful to France for the rescue, the ministry said.

France, the former colonial power in the region, intervened in Mali in 2013 against Islamist militants then occupying Mali’s north and has since kept about 4,500 troops in the Sahel.

The region has seen a spike in violence by militants linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State in past years, highlighting the difficulty international partners face in restoring stability.

France’s defence ministry identified the fallen soldiers as two elite naval commandos.

Burkina Faso’s President Roch Kabore hailed the hostages’ release and offered condolences to the soldiers’ families.

“The joint military intervention that allowed us to achieve these results shows our common engagement in fighting against the forces of evil,” Kabore said in a Facebook post.

The two French tourists were kidnapped on May 1 in Benin’s Pendjari National Park, which lies on Benin’s northern frontier with Burkina Faso. Their safari guide was found dead, his body riddled with bullets, and their vehicle burned.

The French government had warned its citizens against travelling to parts of Benin near the Burkina Faso border because of the risk of kidnapping.

Swathes of northern and eastern Burkina Faso have been overrun by militants, leaving the government struggling to assert authority and forcing over 100,000 residents to flee.

In February, Burkina Faso said militants were increasingly active in West Africa and instability in the Sahel was spreading to coastal countries such as Benin and Ivory Coast.

Led by France, Western powers have also provided funding and weapons to a regional force made up of soldiers from Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mauritania to combat jihadists.

But the so-called G5 force has been hobbled by delays in disbursing the money and poor coordination between the five countries, while insecurity has escalated in the border region between Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. </s> PARIS (AP) - Burkina Faso's president has received three liberated hostages in the presidential palace in the capital, Ouagadougou, to wish them well as they fly to Paris.

Roch Kabore tweeted Saturday he wishes the two French tourists and one South Korean citizen a "safe return to their respective families."

The three will fly to a military airport outside the French capital on Saturday evening where they will be welcomed by President Emmanuel Macron.

The hostages were liberated in a military operation in the West African nation after they were kidnapped in neighboring Benin.

A fourth freed hostage, an American national, is expected to be repatriated separately.

Officials said two French special forces officers and four "terrorists" were killed in Friday's pre-dawn military operation in northern Burkina Faso.

This photo provided Friday May 10, 2019 by the French army shows navy soldiers Cédric de Pierrepont, left, and Alain Bertoncello. Two French soldiers have been killed in a military operation in the West African nation of Burkina Faso that freed four people from the U.S., France and South Korea who were kidnapped in neighboring Benin. (French Army via AP) </s> OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) - Hostages freed by French commandos from militants in Burkina Faso offered their condolences on Saturday to the families of the two French soldiers killed in the rescue operation.

In a daring raid over the night of Thursday to Friday, French special forces liberated two Frenchmen kidnapped in neighboring Benin more than a week earlier as well as an American woman and a South Korean woman who were being held with them.

The two Frenchmen, Laurent Lassimouillas and Patrick Picque, and the South Korean woman, who has not yet been identified, met Burkinabe President Roch Kabore at the presidential palace in the capital Ouagadougou.

The three are due to be welcomed by French President Emmanuel Macron at a military airport outside Paris later on Saturday. The American, who has not been identified either, is being repatriated to the United States.

“All our thoughts go to the families of the soldiers and to the soldiers who lost their lives to free us from this hell,” said Lassimouillas in remarks to reporters.

“We wanted to present our condolences right away to those families because we feel ambivalent about everything that happened to us,” he said.

The French government identified the two soldiers killed as Cédric de Pierrepont and Alain Bertoncello, both officers in the naval special forces.

Lassimouillas also expressed regret over the death of the Beninese park guide, who was killed when the two tourists were kidnapped while on safari in northern Benin before being spirited across the border into Burkina Faso.

French officials said on Friday that it was not yet clear who had kidnapped them in Benin but described their captors in Burkina Faso as “terrorists” who planned to hand them over to an al Qaeda affiliate in neighboring Mali.

Jihadist groups with links to al Qaeda and Islamic State have expanded their presence across West Africa’s Sahel region, a strip of scrubland beneath the Sahara desert, in recent years and taken a number of Western hostages.

France, the former colonial power in the region, intervened in Mali in 2013 to halt an advance by Islamist militants toward the capital Bamako and has kept about 4,500 troops in the Sahel since then.

Speaking to Europe 1 radio, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian repeated warnings to French citizens against traveling to northern Benin.

“The zone where our two compatriots were has been considered for a while now as a red zone ... where you take a major risk by going,” Le Drian said.

It was still unclear how the American and South Korean ended up as hostages. French officials said they had been in captivity for four weeks but did not believe the U.S. or South Korean governments were aware they were being held. </s> President Emmanuel Macron greeted three former hostages as they arrived on French soil, one day after a military operation freed them in Burkina Faso.

The pre-dawn rescue cost the lives of two French special forces officers, as well as four “terrorists”.

The two French citizens, tourists Patrick Picque and Laurent Lassimouillas, as well as an unidentified South Korean national, arrived at Villacoublay military airport.

The French tourists failed to return from a visit last week to the Pendjari National Park wildlife reserve in Benin, and their guide was discovered dead.

Officials said the hostages and their captors were in transit in Burkina Faso and the kidnappers intended to take them to Mali.

Mr Macron, who attended their arrival in France alongside Defence Minister Florence Parly, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and Army Chief of Staff Francois Lecointre, did not make a statement and will address the hostages’ ordeal and the soldiers’ deaths publicly next week.

A military ceremony for the commandos is planned.

A fourth hostage, an American woman, was also successfully rescued. It was not immediately known when and where the American and the South Korean were kidnapped.

Ms Parly called the rescue “an operation of rare difficulty” that grew more complex with the discovery of the American and South Korean hostages being held with the French citizens.

Earlier on Saturday, Burkina Faso President Roch Kabore received the French and South Korean citizens in the presidential palace in the capital, Ouagadougou.

He tweeted on Saturday he wished them a “safe return to their respective families”.

Mr Macron has thanked authorities in Burkina Faso and Benin for their cooperation and promised them support in fighting terrorism. </s> The two French hostages freed by Special Forces in Burkina Faso after being kidnapped in neighboring Benin arrived back in France on Saturday, along with a South Korean woman also freed during the military raid.

President Emmanuel Macron greeted the hostages as they disembarked from the plane sent to fetch them at the Villacourblay military airport southwest of Paris, according to AFP reporters at the scene. </s> Burkina Faso's president has received three liberated hostages in the presidential palace in the capital, Ouagadougou, to wish them well as they fly to Paris.

Roch Kabore tweeted Saturday he wishes the two French tourists and one South Korean citizen a "safe return to their respective families."

The three will fly to a military airport outside the French capital on Saturday evening where they will be welcomed by President Emmanuel Macron.

The hostages were liberated in a military operation in the West African nation after they were kidnapped in neighboring Benin.

A fourth freed hostage, an American national, is expected to be repatriated separately.

Officials said two French special forces officers and four "terrorists" were killed in Friday's pre-dawn military operation in northern Burkina Faso. </s> PARIS (AP) — Burkina Faso's president has received three liberated hostages in the presidential palace in the capital, Ouagadougou, to wish them well as they fly to Paris.

Roch Kabore tweeted Saturday he wishes the two French tourists and one South Korean citizen a "safe return to their respective families."

The three will fly to a military airport outside the French capital on Saturday evening where they will be welcomed by President Emmanuel Macron.

The hostages were liberated in a military operation in the West African nation after they were kidnapped in neighboring Benin.

A fourth freed hostage, an American national, is expected to be repatriated separately.

Officials said two French special forces officers and four "terrorists" were killed in Friday's pre-dawn military operation in northern Burkina Faso.
Four hostages, who were being held in northern Burkina Faso, are rescued by French naval commandos, with two French commandos killed during the rescue operation. Those freed include two Frenchmen who had been kidnapped in Benin on May 1 and a pair of women, one an American and the other a South Korean.