US strike inadvertently killed US, Italian hostages
Updated: 2015-04-24 09:31
(Agencies)
|
|||||||||
US President Barack Obama delivers a statement in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, April 23, 2015. [Photo/Agencies] |
WASHINGTON - A US drone strike in January targeting an al Qaeda compound in Pakistan near the Afghan border inadvertently killed an American and an Italian who had been held hostage for years by the group, US officials said on Thursday.
President Barack Obama apologized and took "full responsibility" for all counterterrorism operations, including this one.
The deaths were a setback for the long-running US drone strike program that has targeted Islamist militants in Pakistan, Afghanistan and elsewhere, and has often drawn criticism in those countries and from civil liberties groups in the United States.
Killed in the January drone strike were aid workers Warren Weinstein, an American held by al Qaeda since 2011, and Giovanni Lo Porto, an Italian who went missing in Pakistan in 2012, as well as Ahmed Farouq, an American who was an al Qaeda leader, US officials said.
Adam Gadahn, an American al Qaeda member who was charged with treason in the United States, was also killed in a separate strike on another al Qaeda camp five days later, the officials said.
Obama said he had ordered a full review of the matter to ensure such mistakes are not repeated.
"I profoundly regret what happened. On behalf of the United States government, I offer our deepest apologies to the families," Obama told reporters at the White House.
Republican House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner and other lawmakers called such a review appropriate but steered clear of criticizing the drone program. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a Republican who is often a fierce critic of the Democratic president, said Gadahn and Farouq "got what they deserved."
US officials said the drone strikes occurred inside Pakistan in the conflict-torn border region near Afghanistan. One official said the CIA had observed the compounds over some time but had no idea hostages were present.
Use of unmanned drones, which enable the United States to carry out counterterrorism operations without putting US personnel directly in harm's way, has prompted criticism because of the deaths of civilians and because on occasion they have involved killing Americans abroad without judicial process.
The American Civil Liberties Union said the government should better follow its own standards before launching drone strikes. "In each of the operations acknowledged today, the US quite literally didn't know who it was killing," said Jameel Jaffer, the ACLU's deputy legal director.
- Airstrike on dairy kills at least 37 workers
- Saudi-led airstrike hits diary factory in Yemen, 37 killed
- Warplanes raid Yemen's capital as airstrike enters fourth day
- 30 killed in coalition airstrike against Islamic State refinery
- Israel steps up security for possible Syria airstrike
- US launches airstrike targeting Somali militant leader
- Volcano erupts in southern Chile, belching ash, smoke into sky
- Across Canada (April 24)
- Ten photos you don't wanna miss - April 23
- Concept cars in spotlight at Shanghai auto show
- US returns ancient artifacts to Egypt
- Unusual libraries around the world
- Chinese real estate deals in US topical forum
- Weird stuff you can buy on Taobao
Most Viewed
Editor's Picks
What do we know about AIIB |
Full coverage of Boao Forum for Asia |
Annual legislative and political advisory sessions |
Spring Festival trends reflect a changing China |
Patent applications lead the world |
BC lures Chinese tourists |
Today's Top News
The real Apple Watchon sale Friday in China
China looks to top the bill in Hollywood productions
National Zoo panda to get semen from China
Chinese mourn passing of US officer
Sino-US nuclear cooperation proposal lauded
Furious 7 on track to be tops in China
As PayPal split looms, eBay plans to think small
China coal use to get cleaner
US Weekly
Geared to go |
The place to be |