13 Killed in Second Failed US Hostage Rescue in Yemen

Kidnapped US Journalist Killed During Raid

More information continues to emerge on the failed US hostage rescue operation which sought to free journalist Luke Somers in Yemen. It is now reported that he and another hostage, South African teacher Pierre Korkie, were killed by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) during the raid.

They weren’t the only ones, as the overnight raid left a total of 13 people dead, and while one of them was reportedly a local AQAP leader, the slain also included women and children.

This was the second raid attempting to free Somers in the past 10 days, after a previous raid similarly failed and led AQAP to announce their intention to execute him by week’s end if they weren’t paid a ransom.

Yemeni experts say they believe AQAP fully intended to ransom Somers, but that they were angered by the repeated US raids trying to recover him militarily. The first raid managed to free some other hostages, but officials blamed a barking dog for tipping off the militants to US presence.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.