Rescued to Death - Part 2

The US will not be reviewing its operations to free US citizens held by militants following the deaths of an American and South African, the defence secretary, Chuck Hagel, has said.

The rescue operation by special forces was launched on Saturday after the US military concluded that American Luke Somers was in imminent danger.

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Somers’ family in the UK said on Monday he might still be alive had it not been for the rescue attempt. His stepmother, Penny Bearman, and half-sister Lucy Somers indicated they still had hope because previous threats to kill him had not been carried out

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A senior US administration official said intelligence experts had concluded, before the raid, that two hostages were being held side-by-side. “One was assessed to be Luke Somers,” the official told the Guardian. “We did not know who the second hostage was.”

  Guardian

There’s that crack intelligence we have going for us.

Locals in Yemen said 11 people had died in the raid, including a woman and a 10-year-old. The US said five militants had died, while others escaped.

Rescued to Death

In the assault on a cave in remote Hajr as-Say'ar district in the eastern province of Hadramout, U.S. and Yemeni security forces rescued six Yemenis, a Saudi and an Ethiopian, and killed seven al Qaeda kidnappers, Yemeni officials said previously.

The Yemeni defense ministry's 26sept.net website later quoted a soldier who had participated in the rescue as saying an American, a Briton and a South African held there had been moved elsewhere two days earlier.

The U.S. disclosure came after the appearance of a new video by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the militant network's Yemen arm, purporting to show Somers and threatening to kill him if unspecified demands were not met.

The man identifying himself as Somers said he was looking for "any help that can get me out of this situation."

  Reuters

Here’s your help…you’re out of that situation now.  And, too bad for the other guy, eh?

Two hostages held by Yemeni Al-Qaeda - American Luke Somers and South African Pierre Korkie - were killed by captors during a US rescue operation, it’s been officially confirmed. Korkie’s death reportedly came a day before his negotiated release.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, confirming the fatalities, justified the operation to free the hostages.

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Pierre Korkie and his wife, Yolande, were kidnapped in the Yemeni city of Taiz in May 2013. His wife was later released and went home to South Africa.

Pierre was also about to be released, according to a humanitarian organization Gift of the Givers, which negotiated with the militants.

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"The psychological and emotional devastation to Yolande and her family will be compounded by the knowledge that Pierre was to be released by Al-Qaeda tomorrow," the charity said.

“It is even more tragic that the words we used in a conversation with Yolande at 5.59 this morning were: ‘The wait is almost over'. Three days ago we told her "Pierre will be home for Christmas".

 RT