U.S. military forces sent helicopters into Somalia in a nighttime raid Tuesday and freed two hostages, an American and a Dane, while killing nine kidnappers, U.S. officials confirm.

The Danish Refugee Council also confirmed the two aid workers, American Jessica Buchanan and Dane Poul Hagan Thisted, were freed “during an operation in Somalia.”

Buchanan, 32, and Thisted, 60, had been working with a de-mining unit of the Danish Refugee Council when they were kidnapped in October.

The raid was conducted by a joint team involving Special Operations Forces, including Navy SEAL Team Six, the same unit that killed Al Qaeda leader Usama bin Laden in May, a senior U.S. defense official told Fox News.

Pentagon spokesman George Little told reporters on Wednesday that the major reason to conduct the operation was due to Buchanan’s health. The Ohio native had a potentially life-threatening medical condition. President Obama authorized the operation on Monday and military commanders finalized the raid on Tuesday.

The captors were heavily armed and had explosives on them, Little said. There were no known survivors among the kidnappers. No Americans were injured during the raid, he said.

The operation and rescue, which took place before President Obama’s State of the Union address, was confirmed by the president early Wednesday in a statement. He said the operation serves as yet another message to the world that the U.S. “will stand strongly against any threats to our people.”

“Jessica Buchanan was selflessly serving her fellow human beings when she was taken hostage by criminals and pirates who showed no regard for her health and well-being,” he said. “As Commander-in-Chief, I could not be prouder of the troops who carried out this mission, and the dedicated professionals who supported their efforts.”

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta also praised the mission early Wednesday, saying the operation was a “team effort” between multiple departments.

“This successful hostage rescue, undertaken in a hostile environment, is a testament to the superb skills of courageous service members who risked their lives to save others,” he said.

The president appeared to refer to the mission before his State of the Union address in Washington Tuesday night. As he entered the House chamber in the U.S. Capitol, he pointed at Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in the crowd and said, “Good job tonight.”

Panetta visited Camp Lemonnier just over a month ago, A key U.S. ally in this region, Djibouti has the only U.S. base in sub-Saharan Africa. It hosts the military’s Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa.

The Danish Refugee Council said both freed hostages are unharmed “and at a safe location.” The group said in a separate statement that the two “are on their way to be reunited with their families.”

The two aid workers appear to have been kidnapped by criminals — and not by Somalia’s Al Qaeda-linked militant group al-Shabab. As large ships at sea have increased their defenses against pirate attacks, gangs have looked for other money making opportunities like land-based kidnappings.

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