U.S. media are reporting that U.S. Special Operations forces have taken part in a rescue mission that freed eight hostages held by al-Qaida militants in Yemen.

The New York Times first reported on the U.S. role in the operation, saying about two dozen American commandos and some U.S.-trained Yemeni counterterrorism troops carried out a raid Tuesday to rescue the hostages.

Wednesday’s report said the raid took place in Hadhramaut, an oil-rich area stretching from the Gulf of Aden in the south to near the Saudi border, where local tribes offer al-Qaida militants protection near.

Later Wednesday, a senior U.S. defense official confirmed to the Associated Press that U.S. Special Operations forces took part in the raid.

Seven al-Qaida members were killed and one Yemeni soldier was wounded in the rescue mission.

The New York Times said six Yemeni citizens, a Saudi and an Ethiopian were freed.

The Pentagon Tuesday denied a report that one of the hostages was American.

It is not clear why U.S. Special Operations forces were involved in the raid. Such operations in foreign countries are rare.

Some information for this report comes from AP.
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