US, South African hostages killed during failed joint rescue bid in Yemen

An American photo-journalist taken hostage in Yemen in 2013 was one of two captives killed on Saturday during a botched US-Yemeni rescue attempt.

The sister of Luke Somers was informed by FBI agents on Saturday that he had been killed - the BBC reports that he was shot by his captors during the raid in Wadi Abdan, Shabwa province.

US officials later confirmed that Somers, 33, died during a rescue operation in central south Yemen.

US President Barack Obama condemned what he called the "barbaric murder" of Somers during the rescue operation. 

Obama said the US will "spare no effort to use all of its military, intelligence and diplomatic capabilities to bring Americans home safely.

"Terrorists who seek to harm our citizens will feel the long arm of American justice."

Yemen’s Defence Minister had earlier announced that Somers was freed during an operation that killed at least nine suspected al-Qaeda militants early on Saturday morning, but hopes were dashed when FBI agents told the family that Somers had been killed.

Speaking at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Bahrain, Yemen's National Security Bureau Chief confirmed his death, telling reporters that the militants had been planning to kill the captives on Saturday.

Outgoing US Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel told reporters in Kabul, Afghanistan, that Somers and another hostage, a South African national, had been killed by their captors during the raid.

The second hostage was Pierre Korkie, a teacher who was captured by al-Qaeda militants in May 2013.

Second hostage due to be released on Sunday

Korkie was kidnapped along with his wife Yolande in Taiz, south-west Yemen, last year.

Yolande, who carried out relief work in hospitals, was released back to South Africa on 10 January 2014 after a deal brokered by Gift of the Givers, the South African NGO she was working for.

South African daily News24 is reporting that Pierre Korkie's captors had been demanding the sum of some $2.85 million in return for his release.

According to South African news site NCA News, Gift of the Givers had already struck a deal with al-Qaeda for his release - correspondent Erin Bates reports that "his family were expecting him home by Christmas."

In a statement released on Saturday morning, Gift of the Givers said leaders had met in Abyan on Saturday morning to prepare "the final security and logistical arrangements...to bring Pierre to safety and freedom" on Sunday.

"All logistical arrangements were in place to safely fly Pierre out of Yemen under diplomatic cover."

Korkie had been in deteriorating health after months of captivity, and in March it was reported that he had become completely deaf.

Tributes pour in for Somers and Korkie

On hearing news of Korkie's death, Gift of the Givers sent their "heartfelt condolences to his family in this hour of difficulty."

British-born US captive Luke Somers is being widely mourned by friends and former colleagues in Yemen, where he worked as a photo-journalist for some years.

Somers was known for his active coverage of protests across Yemen, providing images of little-reported demonstrations like the one held against the ongoing detentions in US-owned Guantanamo Bay in April 2013.

Before hearing of his death, Alex Potter, an American journalist who lived with Somers, paid tribute to his friend.

"He never cared about being with important people or politicians. He didn't care about 'being known.' He really took to heart the lives of normal Yemenis."

Sadeq al-Wesabi, a former colleague at the Yemen Times, where Somers worked as an editor, said he was "a quiet man, a kind man, always willing to help."

Tawakkol Karman, the Yemeni campaigner and Nobel Prize winner, mourned his death on Saturday, saying he had been well-known for his "sympathy with the struggle of all Yemenis in the path towards freedom."

Benjamin Wiacek, a videoreporter with the Associated Press who formerly worked in Yemen, said "the pain and sadness of everyone today in Yemen and elsewhere after the announcement of Luke's death" was indescribable.

Many Yemenis changed their profile pictures on social media to an image of Somers in mourning.

Reporters Without Borders, an international campaign group for the rights of journalists, had called for his release, lauding his coverage of conditions in Yemen over a long period.

“This photojournalist helped to provide independent coverage of the unrest in Yemen in recent years. He cannot be held responsible for the US government’s actions," programme director Lucie Morillon said.

US Secretary of State John Kerry also released a statement saying the killings were a "reminder of the brutality" of militants from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP.

He said his deparment had advised Obama to authorise the operation, believing there was "compelling" evidence that "Luke's life was in immediate danger."

Kerry sent condolences to the Somers family, saying there was "no way to wipe away their pain."

In his statement, he also praised the US personnel involved in the rescue attempt as well as the government of Yemeni President Hadi "for their enduring partnership in combating the scourge of AQAP."

US drone strike reported during joint operation

During the rescue attempt drone strikes, thought to be launched by US forces, had been used to target suspected militant positions overnight.

"Several drone strikes have targeted al-Qaeda positions in Nusab (in Shabwa province), killing nine members of the network," a security source told AFP.

Imtiaz Sooliman, director of Gift of the Givers, told a press conference in South Africa that "the attack was heavy, and there was a lot of devastation in the area."

A tribal leader also said that soldiers of an unknown nationality were seen parachuting into the area.

The intervention was launched days after after AQAP released a video on Thursday in which Somers pleaded for “any help that can get me out of this situation.”

The militants holding Somers, 33, threatened to execute him within 72 hours if their unspecified demands were not met.

One of his captors used the videotaped message to warn “Obama and the American government” against “proceeding ahead in any other foolish action.”

His warning came as the US revealed that they had launched a failed rescue bid last month.

“The United States attempted a rescue operation recently to free a number of hostages, including US citizen Luke Somers,” Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said in a statement on 4 December.

“Some hostages were rescued but others – including Somers – were not present at the targeted location.”

Yemen's defence ministry said al-Qaeda had moved the hostages, including the US journalist, a Briton and a South African, just days before the first joint US-Yemeni raid in the south-eastern province of Hadramawt.

The fate of the third hostage, thought to be a British national, is not yet clear.

On Saturday morning a website closely linked to Yemen’s armed forces announced that a “specialised and successful operation” in Wadi Abdan, Shabwa province, had led to Somers’s release and the death of 10 al-Qaeda militants.

However, Luke Somers’ sister on Saturday morning told the Associated Press that her brother had been killed during the rescue bid, asking that her family be allowed to “mourn in peace.”

Peter Salisbury, a journalist and analyst based in the capital Sana’a, said Yemen’s Defence Ministry had initially thought the rescue mission had been successful, only to discover later that Somers and Korkie had been killed.