Trump honors Navy SEAL killed in raid

Unannounced trip made to Dover base

President Trump made an unannounced trip Wednesday to a Delaware military base to receive the remains of a Navy SEAL killed during a counter-terrorism raid, the White House said.

Chief Special Warfare Operator William “Ryan” Owens, 36, of Peoria, Ill., a member of U.S. Navy SEAL Team Six, was killed during a weekend raid against a group of senior al-Qaeda leaders in central Yemen, officials said.

The operation began as a mission to gather computers and electronic devices believed to contain information about the organization, alQaida in the Arabian Peninsula, and possibly about terrorist plots in the works. But it devolved unexpectedly into a firefight that also killed more than a dozen women and children.

Among those reportedly killed was the 8-year old daughter of Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born al-Qaida leader who was based in Yemen and killed in a 2011 drone strike. Al-Awlaki has been cited as the inspiration for several major attacks in the West, including the San Bernardino, Calif., shootings.

After returning to Washington, Trump called it an “amazing visit,” and said the ceremony and visit with the Owens’ family was “very sad” and “very beautiful.”

Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) traveled with Trump to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

Also accompanied by daughter Ivanka, Trump joined Owens’ family for a private ceremony. The event was closed to the press because the Owens family requested privacy.

The trip was not Trump’s public schedule.

Trump spokesman Sean Spicer paid tribute to Owens during the White House press briefing, noting that he deployed 12 times during his military career.

“You recognize that an individual like this loved this country so much, and deployed over and over again, because he knew that the mission that he was conducting was so important to our protection, our freedom, our safety,” Spicer said of Owens.

Trump, who spoke with Owens’ widow over the weekend, said in a statement that “Americans are saddened this morning with news that a life of a heroic service member has been taken in our fight against the evil of radical Islamic terrorism.” on