Obama Takes ‘Full Responsibility’ For US Drone Attack Killing Two Hostages In Pakistan

President of the Unites States, Barack Obama, apologised for the U.S. drone strike, which had killed two al Qaeda hostages, an Italian and an American. Obama took “full responsibility” of the January attack in Pakistan.

Giovanni Lo Porto and Warren Weinstein were killed in the U.S. drone attack in January. The Italian aid worker went missing from Pakistan in 2012, while the American aid worker was held by the militant group since 2011. The U.S. officials confirmed that American al Qaeda leader Ahmed Farouq had also been killed in the attack.

President Obama said that he “profoundly” regretted what had happened. On behalf of the United States government, I offer our deepest apologies to the families," the U.S. President told reporters at the White House.

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham said that the al Qaeda leader killed in the attack had got what he deserved. Republican House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner was also among other lawmakers who refused to criticise the U.S. drone program.

The U.S. officials confirmed on April 23 that the hostages had been killed in the drone attack. The country has been using drones against militant forces in Pakistan, Afghanistan and other countries for some time now. The strategy has been strongly criticised by the people of those countries. They complain that it is not rare for U.S. drones to kill innocent civilians.

Nabeela ur-Rehman, a 9-year-old Pakistani girl, lost her 68-year-old grandmother in a U.S. drone strike in October 2012. The incident took place in Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal region. Nabeela was severely burnt as she had to be rushed to a hospital where she was treated for shrapnel wounds.

According to an Amnesty report, Nabeela’s grandmother was not the only civilian killed in the U.S. attack. She was “killed in a double strike, apparently by a Hellfire missile, as she picked vegetables in the family’s fields while surrounded by a handful of her grandchildren,” the report said.

The U.S. president said that he had talked with Elaine, Weinstein's wife. The deceased wife, on the other hand, said that the U.S. government’s assistance during her husband's years in captivity was "inconsistent and disappointing."

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au