US, S African hostages killed in Yemen during failed attempt to free them

ADEN: American journalist Luke Somers and a South African hostage were killed Saturday during a failed attempt by US special forces to free them from Al-Qaeda militants in Yemen.
President Barack Obama condemned the “barbaric murder” of Somers, saying he had authorised the joint rescue operation because the life of the 33-year-old photojournalist was believed to be “in imminent danger”.
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) had Thursday threatened to execute Somers, who was kidnapped more than a year ago in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, within three days if Washington failed to meet unspecified demands.
“The callous disregard for Luke’s life is more proof of the depths of AQAP’s depravity, and further reason why the world must never cease in seeking to defeat their evil ideology,” Obama said in a statement, according to a news agency.