ROME (dpa-AFX) - President Barack Obama apologized Thursday for the deaths of two innocent hostages in a U.S. counterterrorism operation against al Qaeda in January.
Obama revealed that Dr. Warren Weinstein, an American aid worker held by al Qaeda since 2011, and Giovanni Lo Porto, an Italian national held since 2012, were killed in a strike on an al Qaeda compound in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region.
'As president and as commander-in-chief, I take full responsibility for all our counterterrorism operations, including the one that inadvertently took the lives of Warren and Giovanni,' Obama said.
'I profoundly regret what happened,' he added. 'On behalf of the United States government, I offer our deepest apologies to the families.'
Multiple media reports indicated that the two hostages were killed in drone strikes against the compound, potentially raising additional questions about the use of the unmanned aerial vehicles.
Obama said an initial assessment determined that the operation was fully consistent with the guidelines under which the U.S. conducts counterterrorism efforts in the region.
The president said it was determined that there were no civilians present and that capturing the terrorists was not possible.
'We do believe that the operation did take out dangerous members of al Qaeda,' Obama said. 'What we did not know, tragically, is that al Qaeda was hiding the presence of Warren and Giovanni in this same compound.'
Obama said he has ordered a full review of the incident to identify the lessons that can be learned to ensure it is not repeated.
'It is a cruel and bitter truth that in the fog of war generally and our fight against terrorists specifically, mistakes, sometimes deadly mistakes, can occur,' Obama said.
He added, 'But one of the things that sets America apart from many other nations, one of the things that makes us exceptional is our willingness to confront squarely our imperfections and to learn from our mistakes.'
A White House statement noted that two other Americans allegedly working with al Qaeda were also recently killed in U.S. counterterrorism operations in the same region.
Ahmed Farouq was killed in the same operation that resulted in the deaths of Weinstein and Lo Porto, while Adam Gadahn was likely killed in a separate operation.
Gadahn, who was also known as Azzam the American, was a prominent spokesman for the terrorist group. The U.S. had offered a $1 million reward for information leading to his capture.
The White House claimed neither Farouq nor Gadahn was specifically targeted and said the U.S. did not have information indicating their presence at the sites of the operations.
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