The White House says two hostages, an American and an Italian, died in Pakistan earlier this year as the result of a United States-launched drone strike that also killed two US citizens involved with Al-Qaeda.
“It is with tremendous sorrow that we recently concluded that a US government counterterrorism operation in January killed two innocent hostages held by Al-Qaeda since 2011,” reads a statement released by the White House press office on Thursday morning.
Officials say an attack in January against a suspected Al-Qaeda compound caused the death of American development expert Dr. Warren Weinstein and Giovanni Lo Porto, an Italian aid worker.
Two Americans considered by the US government to be prominent members of Al-Qaeda were also killed during counter-terrorism operations in the same region, the administration said. Ahmed Farouq, an American considered by the US government to be an Al-Qaeda leader, was killed in the same strike that caused the deaths of Weinstein and Lo Porto, the White House said. The administration has also concluded that Adam Gahan, “a prominent member of Al-Qaeda,” was killed during a separate strike that month.
US President Barack Obama is expected to speak on the matter during an address Thursday morning.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the White House has already launched an investigation into the incident. The results may prompt the administration to revamp its drone program.
The death of Weinstein, the paper acknowledged, is the first known instance in which a US drone strike has accidentally caused the death of an American hostage. Previously, the White House has admitted that drone strikes ordered by the US in 2011 had killed two suspected members of Al-Qaeda with American citizenship and one of their teenage sons, also a US citizen. – RT.COM