US aid worker kidnapped in Pakistan killed in CIA drone strike

Obama takes blame for strike; US to compensate families

WASHINGTON: One American and one Italian who had been held hostage by al Qaeda in the border region of Pakistan and Afghanistan were killed in a US counterterrorism operation in January, the White House said on Thursday.

The operation in which American doctor Warren Weinstein and Italian Giovanni Lo Porto were killed also resulted in the death of an American al Qaeda leader, Ahmed Farouq, the White House said. Another American al Qaeda member, Adam Gadahn, also was killed, likely in a separate operation, the White House added.

Read: Abducted by al Qaeda in Pakistan, Warren Weinstein urges Obama for help

In a written statement, the White House expressed "tremendous sorrow" over the hostage deaths and said the United States had no reason to believe hostages were at the al Qaeda related compound targeted in the operation.

Read: Police arrest suspect in Warren Weinstein kidnapping

"Analysis of all available information has led the intelligence community to judge with high confidence that the operation accidentally killed both hostages," the statement said.

"No words can fully express our regret over this terrible tragedy," the statement added.

Read: US working closely with Pakistan to recover Warren Weinstein: Toner

Weinstein was abducted in Lahore, Pakistan, in 2011 while working for a US consulting firm. Al Qaeda had asked to trade him for members of the militant group being held by the United States.

Weinstein was seen in videos released in May 2012 December 2013, asking for Obama to intervene on his behalf and saying he was suffering from heart problems and asthma.

Italian aid worker Lo Porto has been missing in Pakistan since January 2012.

Read: Al Qaeda claims kidnapping of Weinstein in Pakistan

The White House did not describe the operation, but the Wall Street Journal reported that it was a the first known instance in which the United States has accidentally killed a hostage in a drone strike.

Read: Al Qaeda tells family to press US to negotiate hostage release

Italian media said Lo Porto, who was from Palermo, Sicily, was kidnapped three days after arriving in Pakistan on Jan. 19, 2012, to work for a German organization building houses for victims of a 2010 flood.

Another man was kidnapped with him but later separated and freed in October 2014 by German special forces.

Meanwhile, Dr Weinstein's family released a statement.

NEW: Family of Dr. Warren Weinstein, hostage slain in US counterterrorism operation, releases statement. pic.twitter.com/9BQJc1myaS

— CBSN (@CBSNLive) April 23, 2015

US to compensate families of hostages killed in strike

The White House on Thursday said the United States would compensate the families' of an American and Italian hostage killed in a counter terrorism operation near the Afghan-Pakistan border.

"Compensation will be provided to both families," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said, adding that the final details had yet to be agreed.

Read: US aid worker - Investigators track down Weinstein kidnappers

Obama takes blame for strike that killed two hostages

Obama gave few details of the operation, which officials suggested was a drone strike that took place against an al Qaeda compound inside Pakistan.

"As president and as commander-in-chief, I take full responsibility for all our counter-terrorism operations, including the one that inadvertently took the lives of Warren and Giovanni," he said.

"I profoundly regret what happened. On behalf of the United States government, I offer our deepest apologies to the families."

"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 informed Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi personally about his administration's findings.

Italy's foreign ministry described the deaths as a "tragic and fatal error by our US allies" but said "terrorists" were entirely to blame.

But this is just the latest controversy around Obama's counter-terrorism operations, which - while killing Osama bin Laden in a commando raid - have more often relied heavily on secret drone strikes.

Obama was quick to stress that "we do believe that the operation did take out dangerous members of al Qaeda."