US Photojournalist Held by Al-Qaeda in Yemen Killed after Failed Rescue Attempt

Local Editor

US President Barack Obama US strongly condemned the "barbaric murder" of hostage Luke Somers by al-Qaeda during a rescue operation by US forces in Yemen.

Obama also offered condolences to Somers' family and family of non-US citizen hostage who was also killed by militants during the rescue operation.

The American photojournalist held hostage by al-Qaeda in Yemen has been shot dead by his captors during a failed rescue attempt, his sister has said.
Lucy Somers told the Associated Press that she was informed by FBI agents on Saturday that her 33-year-old brother, Luke, had died.

The British-born photographer was shot by his captors during the raid on Friday night and later died despite being flown to a US naval ship, a US official told the New York Times.
"We ask that all of Luke's family members be allowed to mourn in peace," Lucy Somers said.
Her brother was captured in the Yemeni capital Sana'a more than a year ago by the extremist group.

Earlier this week, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula issued a video with a message aimed at the US government threatening to kill the hostage if its demands were not met.

Last week the US said it had attempted a rescue operation to free a number of hostages, including Somers, but that he had not been at the site of the raid.
The family of Somers, who was captured in September 2013, had earlier pleaded for him to be released.

His father, Michael, said Somers was "a good friend of Yemen and the Yemeni people".
The Aqap video begins with a reading in Arabic from Nasser bin Ali al-Ansi, an official of the terrorist group, before Somers appears and gives a statement in English.

He said: "My name is Luke Somers. I'm 33 years old. I was born in England, but I carry American citizenship and have lived in America for most of my life.
Ansi gave the US government three days to meet the demands or "otherwise, the American hostage held by us will meet his inevitable fate".

The news of the failed rescue comes after a suspected US drone strike in Yemen killed nine alleged al-Qaeda militants early on Saturday, a security official said.
At least six suspected militants were killed in an air strike in the same province last month.

Somers was kidnapped in September 2013 as he left a supermarket in the Yemeni capital, Sana'a, said Fakhri al-Arashi, chief editor of the National Yemen, where Somers worked as a copy editor and a freelance photographer during the 2011 uprising in Yemen.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team