US counterterrorism operations resulted in the deaths of an American and an Italian being held hostage by al-Qaeda, the White House announced in a press statement on Thursday.
"It is with tremendous sorrow that we recently concluded that a US Government counterterrorism operation in January killed two innocent hostages held by al-Qaeda," said the White House in a press statement on Thursday.
"Our hearts go out to the families of Dr. Warren Weinstein, an American held by al-Qaeda since 2011, and Giovanni Lo Porto, an Italian national who had been an al-Qaeda hostage since 2012."
The counterterrorism operation was carried out on an al-Qaeda compound located in the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
According to the statement, the same strike killed Ahmed Farouq, an American who was an al-Qaeda leader. Another American member of al-Qaeda, Adam Gadahn, is also believed to have been killed in January, in a separate antiterrorism operation.
http://sptnkne.ws/fsT
23/4/15
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Obama: 'I profoundly regret' deaths of US, Italian hostages ...
ReplyDeleteUS President Barack Obama on Thursday apologized for a counterterrorism operation in January that accidentally killed two aid workers held hostage by al-Qaida, American Warren Weinstein and Italian Giovanni Lo Porto.
"As a husband and as a father, I cannot begin to imagine the anguish that the Weinstein and Lo Porto families are enduring today," Obama told reporters, with a deep sigh, saying he took responsibility for the deaths and has ordered a full review.
"I profoundly regret what happened," Obama said, explaining he declassified some of the details of the operation so that the families could know what happened.
jpost.com by Reuters
23/4/15