Last week, US commandos took part in a failed rescue operation aimed at recovering an American journalist. Though US officials were previously reluctant, they are now disclosing more about the operation.
The White House says they had “reliable intelligence” about the location of Luke Somers, and immediately authorized the Pentagon to send troops to try to rescue him. They didn’t find him, however.
They rescued some other people, but they also stirred up al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) about Somers, and they have released a new video promising to kill him by the end of the week.
AQAP was holding Somers for ransom and still seem to be keen to get that ransom, but warned that after the “foolish action” taken against them, their patience is wearing thin. Somers appears healthy in the video, despite being held since September of 2013.