BRITISH paratroops have attacked a rebel base in the Sierra Leone jungle, freeing six British soldiers and a Sierra Leonean officer held hostage since August 25. Britain’s defence minister, Geoffrey Hoon, said the decision to mount the rescue followed repeated threats by the maverick West Side Boys hostage takers to kill their captives and reports of mock executions. Sierra Leone’s information minister, Julius Spencer, said that 17 of the West Side Boys had been killed and 11, including their commander, had been seized. Sierra Leonean military sources said that one British soldier had been seriously wounded in the raid. – Reuters