The White House today announced that “a U.S. Government counterterrorism operation in January killed two innocent hostages" held by al Qaeda.
In a statement released by Press Secretary Josh Earnest, the White House named Dr. Warren Weinstein, an American held by the terror group since 2011, and Giovanni Lo Porto, an Italian national who had been an al Qaeda hostage since 2012, as the victims.
"Analysis of all available information has led the Intelligence Community to judge with high confidence that the operation accidentally killed both hostages,” according to the statement. “The operation targeted an al-Qaeda-associated compound, where we had no reason to believe either hostage was present, located in the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan. No words can fully express our regret over this terrible tragedy.”
In a video released by al Qaeda in 2012, Weinstein, a former peace corps official abducted from his home in Lahore, Pakistan, pleaded with President Obama to comply with the terrorists’ demands.
“My life is in your hands, Mr. President,” he said. “If you accept the demands, I live. If you don’t accept the demands, then I die.”
“I've done a lot of service for my country, and I would hope that my country will now look after me and take care of me and meet the demands of the mujahedeen,” he added.
Though the administration has asserted the operation was “lawful and conducted consistent with our counterterrorism policies,” officials have promised a “thorough independent review.”
According to the statement, “Two other Americans were recently killed in U.S. Government counterterrorism operations in the same region.” Ahmed Farouq and Adam Gadahn, were both members of al Qaeda, but neither was “specifically targeted,” the White House says.
President Obama -– who “takes full responsibility for these operations,” the statement says -– is expected to deliver a statement this morning.
0 comments:
Post a Comment