Washington did not know about advanced negotiations to release South African teacher Pierre Korkie before he was killed in a failed US-led mission to rescue hostages held by al-Qaeda in Yemen, the US ambassador to South Africa said yesterday.
Pierre Korkie, 56, and US photojournalist Luke Somers, 33, died of wounds after being shot during a special forces raid intended to free Somers shortly after midnight on Saturday.
The US says they were killed by their captors, members of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
Another 11 people, including a woman, a 10-year-old boy and a local al-Qaeda leader, were also killed during the raid in the village of Dafaar in Shabwa Province.
Gift of the Givers, a relief group negotiating Korkie’s release on behalf of his family, said the teacher had been due to be handed over on Sunday, hours after the raid.
US Ambassador to South Africa Patrick Gaspard said Washington acted swiftly to free Somers because it had information that he was going to be killed by his captors.
“We were unaware of negotiations for the release of Pierre Korkie and we were also not aware that Pierre Korkie was being held in the same space as Luke Somers,” Gaspard told 702 talk radio.
US officials have said they were aware a second hostage was at the location, but did not know that it was Korkie.
Gift of the Givers and Pierre’s wife Yolande, who was released in January after being held with her husband, said they did not hold the US responsible.
“There is no accusation towards anybody. Mrs Korkie is not in a position to say they [the US] were wrong,” Korkie family spokesman Daan Nortier said. “Mrs Korkie, as a Christian, applies the biblical principle of forgiving ... even for his captors.”
Korkie’s body was due to be repatriated yesterday, Nortier said.
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