Advertising Read more Paris (AFP) A South Korean hostage rescued by French special forces in Burkina Faso last week was a tourist travelling in the region who had been seized close to the border with Benin, an embassy official said on Monday. The woman, who has not been named, was flown to Paris on Saturday after being rescued in a raid by French commandoes overnight Thursday-Friday in which two soldiers died. "She was just travelling, she wasn't working. She had been on the road for close to one year," an official in the South Korean embassy in Paris told AFP. He added that the "regular tourist" had asked for her identity to be kept private. She had previously visited Senegal and Mali in west Africa, as well as other countries during a major trip from her home,a region "in the middle of South Korea," the official said. She was snatched around a month ago by armed men while attempting to cross by car from Burkina Faso into neighbouring Benin, apparently along with an American woman who was also rescued by the French forces. "That is my understanding (that the women were together), but we don't speak for the American lady," the official added. The US government has declined to comment about its national, but the ABC news channel has reported she was also a tourist, aged in her 60s. - 'Going home' - The South Korean woman, who appeared in between the two French hostages as they made a statement to the media on Saturday in Paris, has been admitted for a medical check up at a military hospital in Paris. "She doesn't have any particular problems," the official said. "She will be going back home, today or tomorrow." The embassy official confirmed that the woman had been held for 27-28 days in captivity and had been "moved from one place to another a few times". Asked about the identity of the hostage-takers, "she said she didn't know," the official added. "We dont know. You have to check with the French government." The official confirmed that the South Korean government had been unaware that one of its citizens was being held in the area. France's defence minister, Florence Parly, had previously told reporters that French forces staging the rescue had been surprised to find the South Korean and American women being held hostage alongside the two French tourists. - Freed from 'hell' - Parly did not say who was responsible for the kidnappings, but said the hostage-takers were planning to transfer their victims to Islamist groups in Mali who are aligned to either Al-Qaeda or Islamic State. The French hostages, Patrick Picque and Laurent Lassimouillas, admitted that they should have heeded the French foreign ministry's advice on avoiding risky areas after they were seized in Benin close to the border with Burkina Faso. "We certainly should have better taken into account the government's advice as well as the complexities of Africa," Lassimouillas said in a statement. "Our first thoughts go to the families of the soldiers who freed us from this hell," he added. French President Emmanuel Macron will lead a commemoration ceremony for the slain commandoes in Paris on Tuesday at the Invalides military hospital and museum. ? 2019 AFP<doc-sep>(CNN) — A French hostage in Burkina Faso, freed in an overnight rescue this week in which two soldiers were killed, described the experience as “hell.” Laurent Lassimouillas was freed along with another Frenchman, an American woman and a South Korean woman in a French-led operation with the support of the US military. The rescue occurred between Thursday and Friday in the Sahel region of Burkina Faso. “I want to thank French authorities and Burkina Faso ones,” Lassimouillas told reporters at the presidential palace in the capital of Ouagadougou before a meeting with Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, Burkina Faso’s President. “Our thoughts are for the families of the soldiers and the soldiers who lost their (lives) to free us from this hell,” he added, according to CNN affiliate BFMTV. Lassimouillas, his compatriot, Patrick Picque, and the South Korean landed safely Saturday at a French air force base outside Paris, where French President Emmanuel Macron greeted them. The former hostages will receive a full health examination. The American woman was “directly collected by the Americans” in Burkina Faso, a press officer for France’s Élysée Palace told CNN. The French citizens were kidnapped May 1 in the neighboring West African country of Benin, according to the Élysée Palace. Their safari guide was found dead in Pendjari National Park, and their vehicle was burned, Reuters reported. Four terrorists were killed in the rescue operation, Florence Parly, the French minister for the armed forces, said Friday. The minister said investigations were underway to identify the kidnappers, noting that networks affiliated with al Qaeda and ISIS are known to operate in the area. Handout/AFP French soldiers Cedric de Pierrepont, left, and Alain Bertoncello were killed in the mission. The US military supported the French-led operation to free the four hostages, according to two US officials. One official said that the US support was in the form of overhead intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. French soldiers Cedric de Pierrepont and Alain Bertoncello were killed in the operation. The two will be honored in a national tribute Tuesday, Macron said. “They gave their lives to release others,” the French leader wrote on Twitter. “From now on, let us carry our thoughts to their families and brothers of arms.” CNN’s Antoine Crouin reported from Paris, while Rob Picheta wrote in London. CNN’s Jennifer Deaton contributed to this report.<doc-sep>Anne Mimault, Reuters | Rescued hostages, two French citizens and one South Korean, attend a news conference by Burkina Faso Foreign Minister Alpha Barry (not pictured) at the presidency in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso May 11, 2019. Three foreign hostages, including two French citizens, will arrive in Paris on Saturday evening after their rescue by French special forces in Burkina Faso. Watch FRANCE 24's special edition for coverage of their return. Advertising Read more Three ex-hostages -- including a South Korean citizen -- will arrive in Paris at 6pm French time (GMT +2), where they will be greeted by French President Emmanuel Macron and senior government and military officials. The French tourists, Patrick Picque, 51, and Lassimouillas, 46, disappeared during a tour of Pendjari National Park on May 1. The disfigured body of their guide was found shortly after they were reported missing, along with their abandoned Toyota truck. Intelligence agencies tracked their captors across the semi-desert terrain of eastern Burkina Faso, where it appeared they would soon cross the border into Mali. Macron gave the order for the night-time raid Thursday on the militants' camp, in which Picque and Lassimouillas were freed, along with an American woman and a South Korean woman. Click on the video player above to watch FRANCE 24's special report. Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning Subscribe<doc-sep>During the evening hours of May 9 in northern Burkina Faso, a landlocked country in West Africa, French military commandos made their way toward four sheds. Inside, they believed, terrorists were holding two French tourists who were kidnapped while traveling in neighboring Benin a week earlier. When the soldiers arrived, they were surprised to find not just six terrorists and two French hostages, but also an American and South Korean hostage. Two French special forces soldiers, Cédric de Pierrepont and Alain Bertoncello, were killed in the ensuing struggle to save the four hostages. “They died for France,” said Florence Parly, France’s armed-forces minister, at a news conference yesterday (link in French). “They did not shake, they did not hesitate, they protected the hostages at the cost of their own lives.” France’s armed forces chief, general François Lecointre, said the rescue operation was their last chance to save the hostages, who were about to be handed over to another Islamist militant group in Mali, at which point it would have become “impossible to organize a release operation.” Lecointre also said that the American and South Korean hostages, whose identities were not disclosed, had been held for 28 days before their rescue. US officials were apparently unaware that an American was also being held by the group. French and American intelligence services worked together to track the kidnappers in Burkina Faso. In a press release (link in French), Parly acknowledged the “precious support of our American allies” in conducting the operation. Tibor Nagy, assistant secretary for the US State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs, tweeted his thanks and condolences to French special forces. The Sahel, a vast region that borders the Sahara Desert and stretches from Senegal to Sudan, has become an increasingly dangerous transit hub for terrorists and criminal networks trafficking in drugs, weapons, and humans in recent years. France maintains the largest foreign military presence in the Sahel under Operation Barkhane (link in French): about 4,500 French troops, along with drones, fighter jets, helicopters, and tanks, divided between three bases in Mali, Niger, and Chad. Despite the escalating threat in Africa, earlier this year the Trump administration announced it would reduce the US military presence there (paywall) by about 25% in 2022. The US already relies mostly on French and African forces to carry out counterterrorism missions in the Sahel, though American forces often provide aerial refueling and airlifting. That, say some analysts, is why the US-French alliance in the region is so crucial. This week’s hostage rescue was not the first time French military helped Americans in the Sahel: In 2017, French aircraft rescued ambushed US Special Forces soldiers in Niger. Analysts have pointed to the Trump administration’s lack of commitment to the region as a strategic mistake. Alexandra de Hoop Scheffer and Martin Quencez, two analysts at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, wrote in January that “the United States relies on French leadership and savoir-faire in Africa, and its quick reaction assets in Niger,” but that “without the United States on its side, France’s ability to project power and conduct counterterrorism operations is limited.” This week’s hostage rescue is a symbol of why continued military investment in the region is important. It also calls into question the Trump administration’s skepticism of international partnerships. Benjamin Haddad, director of the Future Europe Initiative at the Atlantic Council, tweeted yesterday, “This is what alliances are for.”<doc-sep>
French soldiers led a raid to rescue two tourists who had been kidnapped in the West African country of Burkina Faso, and ended up also freeing an American and a South Korean who they were unaware were being held. Several U.S. officials told ABC News that the U.S. government was unaware until Friday that the American woman was being held. The raid resulted in the death of two French soldiers. The two former French hostages and Korean hostage were brought to the Presidential Palace of Kosyam in Ouagadougou at about 8:50 a.m. local time on Saturday. French hostage Laurent Lassimouillas paid tribute to the French soldiers killed during the operation in a short statement, saying, "All our thoughts go to the families of the soldiers and the soldiers who lost their lives to free us from this hell, we wanted to offer our condolences right away." The U.S. woman was not with the other three rescued hostages. Her name has not been released, but a U.S. official described her as being in her 60s. U.S. forces were not involved in the raid, French defense officials said at a news conference in Paris, but did provide some intelligence support, which helped French forces locate the hostages and their kidnappers. “It seems these two other hostages [the American and South Korean] had been held hostage for 28 days,” said Francois Lecointre, the chief of staff of the French armed forces. French Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly said French authorities “don’t know much" about the American and South Korean women but that “they are in a safe place.” Conversations with U.S. and South Korean officials appeared to confirm that neither country had known about the hostages, Parly said. French officials didn’t share the American’s identity or provide any more information about her. The spokesperson with the U.S. State Department confirmed that an American had been freed, but would not say if U.S. officials were aware, prior to the raid, that an American woman was being held hostage. “We are grateful for the successful recovery of four hostages, including a U.S. citizen,” the spokesperson said. “We offer sincerest condolences to the families of the two French soldiers killed during the operation.” The two French tourists had been on safari in the Pendjari National Park in Benin, near the Burkina Faso border, when they disappeared along with their tour guide on May 1. Three days later, the tour guide, identified as Fiacre Gbedji, was found dead in the park, according to Benin’s Ministry of Interior and Public Safety. Al-Qaida and ISIS were known to operate in the area, officials said at the press conference, but they did not say that either of those groups, or any Islamist extremist groups, were involved. The French soldiers who died have been identified as Cédric de Pierrepont and Alain Bertoncello, and both were under the command of the special operations, the French president said in a statement. ABC News' James Meek contributed to this report.