Obama apologizes for Jan. drone attack American, Italian killed during strike on al-Qaida site
WASHINGTON — A CIA drone strike in January that was aimed at a suspected al-Qaida compound in Pakistan accidentally killed two hostages, including a kidnapped American, U.S. officials acknowledged Thursday.
U.S. officials said they didn’t realize until weeks later that two civilians had died in the attack — kidnapped aid workers Warren Weinstein of Maryland and Giovanni Lo Porto of Italy — despite assurances from the CIA at the time of the operation that only alQaida fighters were present.
The CIA had been conducting surveillance on the site near the Afghan border for hundreds of hours, U.S. officials said.
But the spy agency later discovered the strike had killed a second U.S. citizen: Ahmed Farouq. U.S. officials said the American had joined al-Qaida years earlier and was among the suspected
militants at the compound.
After the CIA slowly pieced together what had happened, the spy agency’s director, John Brennan, delivered the news to President Barack Obama last week. On Thursday, in brief remarks from the White House, a grim and downcast Mr. Obama informed the nation of the botched operation.
“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,” Mr. Obama said. “I profoundly regret what happened. On behalf of the United States government, I offer our deepest apologies to the families.”
Mr. Weinstein, 73, had been held since 2011 after being kidnapped in Lahore, Pakistan. Mr. Lo Porto, 39, had been in al-Qaida captivity since 2012.
Mr. Obama said he spoke Wednesday with Mr. Weinstein’s wife, Elaine, and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi to inform them of the bungled operation.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the families of the two hostages will receive U.S. government compensation, but declined to provide details.
Mr. Obama said the operation was “fully consistent with the guidelines” he has established for counterterrorism strikes against alQaida, but that he has ordered “a full review” of what happened.
Mr. Obama provided only limited details about the operation. He did not specify how or where the hostages were killed, or which arm of the U.S. government was responsible.
Two Pakistani intelligence officials, both of whom spoke on condition of anonymity, said they believe Mr. Weinstein, Mr. Lo Porto and Mr. Farouq were killed during a Jan. 15 drone strike in the Shawal Valley in North Waziristan, part of Pakistan’s tribal belt.
A statement released earlier this month by al-Qaida’s media arm also reported that Mr. Farouq had been killed on Jan. 15 in the Shawal Valley, but it did not identify the little-known figure as an American or make any mention of the hostages.
The CIA has been conducting drone strikes against alQaida targets in Pakistan for more than a decade under a covert program first authorized by former President George W. Bush and substantially expanded by Mr. Obama. The strikes have caused widespread public anger in Pakistan for inflicting civilian casualties, but have been tolerated by the Pakistani government as part of an unspoken arrangement with the U.S. government.
Although Mr. Obama did not mention it in his remarks, a third American was killed in a separate counterterrorism operation in January, the White House acknowledged in a statement.
Adam Gadahn, 36, a California native who converted to Islam and joined al-Qaida more than a decade ago, was killed in a CIA drone attack in Pakistan within a week of the strike that killed the hostages, U.S. officials said.