How Yemen rescue attempt went wrong
By <
http://thehill.com/author/timothy-cama> Timothy Cama -
12/07/14 12:00 PM EST
United States military and intelligence officials are still piecing together
what happened early Saturday that sabotaged an attempt to rescue two
hostages from al Qaeda in Yemen.
Despite being ready with a roughly 40-man special operations team and days
to plan the operation, U.S. photojournalist Luke Somers and South African
teacher Pierre Korki both died shortly after the midnight raid.
The key problem, officials told the Wall Street Journal, came when some kind
of sound alerted militants who were holding the hostages that the special
operations team was nearby. The militants were part of al Qaeda in the
Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP.
It could have been a dog bark or any number of noises, but military
officials who spoke to the Journal said the militants suddenly opened fire
when troops were about 100 yards away.
The raid's failure came as a reminder that not all special operations can be
as successful as, for example, the one that killed Osama bin Laden in 2011.
Saturday's rescue bid followed another unsuccessful attempt to free Somers
late last month, an operation that led to the southern Yemen compound that
ended up being raided Saturday.
After President Obama approved the mission Friday morning, military and
intelligence leaders scheduled it for early Saturday, which was about 5 p.m.
Friday on the United States' East Coast.
They believed that al Qaeda would kill Somers later that day. They knew
there was another hostage in the compound, but they did not know who until
after the operation.
Officials told the Journal that after the team's cover was blown, a militant
ran into the building that they believed housed Somers. The militant likely
shot both of them before running out.
The United States team then entered the building, and Somers and Korki were
both alive. The hostages were loaded onto a helicopter and brought to a Navy
assault ship off Yemen's coast, the Journal said.
One died on the helicopter and another on the ship, but officials declined
to identify which one died when.
No United States troops were injured in the operation, and they believe
about six al Qaeda fighters were killed.
Received on Sun Dec 07 2014 - 14:04:05 EST