American Photojournalist Luke Somers Killed in Ill-Fated Rescue Attempt by US Forces in Yemen

Freedom for American photojournalist Luke Somers was so close but apparently not meant to be. The 33-year-old was kidnapped a little more than a year ago in Yemen and was shown in a videotape earlier this week asking for the U.S. to meet al-Qaida militants's demands or else he would be killed. Apparently, our government believed that Somers's death was imminent, so early Saturday, Dec. 6, it made an attempt to rescue him. Sources said U.S. soldiers were only about 100 yards from Somers and another hostage that he was held with, Pierre Korkie of South Africa, when a militant quickly shot them both.

New details in the failed mission have come out this morning, Dec. 7, explaining that about 40 American special operations forces were involved in the top-secret mission. They were backed up by Yemeni ground forces and only about 100 yards from the compound where Somers and Korkie were held before being spotted by militants.

One entered the building where the two men were held, and it is believed that at that moment both were shot. After American forces got to them both Somers and Korkie were still alive but gravely wounded. Both men were pulled onto V-22 Ospreys and surgery was begun midair on both. One hostage died in flight and the other one died shortly after landing.

Ironically, Korkie was said to be only a day away from freedom, as his country had made a deal with his captors. For Somers, the future looked different and the U.S. called his death barbaric while expressing no regret in trying to get him out. The belief was that the militants intended to kill Somers as early as Saturday anyway, so there was little to lose in trying to rescue him.

Even with all the recent ISIS be-headings, America has held firm in its policy not to negotiate with terrorists because once it does then it fears there would be a rash of hostages taken across the world with all sorts of groups looking for a payday.

Even though the mission ultimately failed, do you believe the special forces did the right thing in trying to rescue Somers? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below.

Tags

Terrorism