US acknowledges January operation killed American, Italian hostages

The United States on Thursday said an American counter terrorism operation in January killed two hostages, one American and one Italian, who were held by al Qaeda in the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

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. In a statement, the White House expressed sorrow over the hostage deaths and said the United States had no reason to believe hostages were at the targeted compound.  

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