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| Luke Somers, a 33-year-old British-born US journalist, who has been killed in a failed rescue attempt. |
US president Barack Obama has condemned the “brutal murder” of American photojournalist Luke Somers, who was shot by his al-Qaida captors during a rescue mission by US special forces.
The 33-year-old was shot during the rescue attempt on Saturday morning and died while being transferred to a warship by American troops. A South African teacher being held with him, Pierre Korki, was also killed in the raid.
“On behalf of the American people, I offer my deepest condolences to Luke’s family and to his loved ones,” Obama said in a statement.
“As this and previous hostage rescue operations demonstrate, the United States will spare no effort to use all of its military, intelligence and diplomatic capabilities to bring Americans home safely, wherever they are located. And terrorists who seek to harm our citizens will feel the long arm of American justice. » | Martin Chulov in Beirut andEmma Graham-Harrison | Saturday, December 06, 2014
