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Up to 13 Dead in US Special Forces Hostage Rescue Blunder in Yemen

© REUTERS / via Reuters TVLuke Somers
Luke Somers - Sputnik International
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A 10-year old boy, a woman and a local al-Qaeda leader were among those killed during the failed rescue operation.

South African teacher Pierre Korkie, held hostage together with a 33-year-old American photojournalist Luke Somers and set to go free on the next day after US attempted release, has died in the failed rescue operation. - Sputnik International
One More Hostage Set to Go Free Dies in Failed US Rescue Attempt in Yemen
MOSCOW, December 7 (Sputnik) — At least 11 people were killed alongside two Western hostages during a botched US-led rescue operation in Yemen, Reuters reports.

A 10-year old boy, a woman and a local al-Qaeda leader were among those killed, according to local residents cited by the agency.

The shootout occurred when US special forces raided the Dafaar village in southern Yemen in an attempt to free US journalist Luke Somers held there by militants from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). The rescue team was apparently unaware that a second hostage, a South African teacher named Pierre Korkie who was soon to be released by AQAP, was also held at the location. Both hostages were executed by their captors during the firefight.

Luke Somers, a 33-year-old American photojournalist, held hostage by Al Qaeda in Yemen, has been killed in a failed US rescue operation. - Sputnik International
American Hostage Killed in Failed Rescue Operation in Yemen
At least two more hostages are still being held by the group, Reuters adds.

AQAP is a Sunni extremist group formed in 2009 and based in Yemen. The group has orchestrated numerous high-profile terrorist attacks, among them the failed attempt to detonate an explosive device in the US Northwest Airlines in December 2009.

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