El Salvador sends 100 special forces into Haiti to find 4 missing troops

El Salvador sent 100 special forces troops into Haiti on Thursday to hunt for four of its own soldiers who vanished after a gang ambush, according to two officials who spoke with The Associated Press. A Salvadoran government official not cleared to discuss the matter said another 100 soldiers were scheduled to land Thursday night. Authorities in the Central American nation are working from the belief that all four are still alive.

President Nayib Bukele announced the rescue mission a day earlier, warning of a harsher response if the four aviation technicians aren't handed back alive and unharmed. Haiti's government broke its silence Wednesday evening, saying the men had been abducted — its first public word since the attack went down Sunday in Croix-des-Bouquets, outside the capital. The soldiers were riding in an armored vehicle when gunmen opened fire and also set off explosives.

Since then, Haitian police and the international gang suppression force have been trading fire with armed men in the surrounding area, and residents have been told to stay indoors. It marks the first big attack since the new force took over from a Kenyan-led mission that had limped along short on cash and resources in its fight to help Haitian police beat back the gangs.

The neighborhood where the vehicle was hit sits under the thumb of several armed groups. Among them: Chèn Méchan, Kraze Barye, which is run by Vitel'homme Innocent, and 400 Mawozo, led by Lanmo Sanjou. Both Innocent and Sanjou have drawn sanctions from the United Nations and the United States.

So far, nobody has stepped forward to claim the attack. El Salvador's presidential office didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. The Miami Herald was first to report the deployment.