mr. somers, right? >> no, just a little less than two weeks ago when another special operations team also conducted a raid on what they believed to be a site holding hostages, and they did rescue about eight other hostages, including several yemenis, but mr. somers had been moved with three or four other westerners and so this was a follow-up to try to rescue them before a deadline imposed by the al qaeda affiliate in yemen on saturday. >> sreenivasan: were there any members of the u.s. special force injured or civilians on the ground or people who were holding them hostage? >> there have been some media reports of civilian casualties but i have not been able to confirm that. there were no military casualties as part of this team. it's a dangerous part, a remote part of yemen. the al qaeda affiliate there has controlled it for some time now, so this is a very dangerous, high-risk mission. >> sreenivasan: and this is a joint operation between u.s. forces and yemeni forces. how has that been going over th

mr. somers, mr.esn't matter what country you are doing with or country you are doing with. >> s a. ma before we go looking at yemen and the outcome this operation, the kidnapped people were killed, but the kidnappers were killed too. is this a disincentive to do this kind of thing in the future. >> i don't think so. i think it will continue to happen. in the past three years we have seen kidnappingpings go wrong we they tried to take a hostage, the toss ta hostage and was killed. sometimes it's just to create chaos and make pima frayed for irrelevant that lives, i think kidnappings will continue to happen but i think americans can take precautions before they go to yemen, they can read very carefully about the country, they can go there and know who they will be with. nowhere they are going to. i think if foreigners stick with the yemeni families the families feel an obligation to take care of them and they always do that. in these cases it's really rare. i know a bunch of forb eners who are yemen, w

mr. somers was kidnapped last year, and the white house authorized a rescue attempt a month ago, and the special forces got there and somers was not there when they arrived. we spoke about that attempted raid earlier this week, and he confirmed that that did in fact happen. in terms of this group, alex, and i know you will get into a little more detail about this with journcolonel jacobs, but i the strongest branch of al qaeda and is based in yemen. >> quickly, i want to clarify, is there a connection between al qaeda and isis? >> that's a big question. that's one of the things we have been discussing at the white house all week long, what the white house says about that is they don't know if there is a direct link right now, an intelligence link between isis and aqap, but the white house says that there is what is called a legacy connection between these two groups, alex, and what that essentially means is that they believe, officials here believe they share a similar ideology and goals and so both groups, an incredible concern to the white house and obviously today's tragic killing of l

mr. somers was not successfully rescued. >> cycling, the bochd raid to try to free american hostage luke . more questions than answered following a rescue attempt that ended up with a dead american and a dead south african hostage who is possibly hours away from being released. it all started late friday night. three dozen highly skilled american navy s.e.a.l.s stormed a compound in yemen, second high-stakes attempt to free somers. somers was there but something tipped off al qaeda. a shootout erupted. the terrorists shot somers and the other hostage. they were clinging to life when s.e.a.l.s evacuated them to safety but both died of their injuries. somers' body will be returned home for burial tomorrow. also south african teacher pierre korkie. the american ambassador to south africa says washington did not know what the progress of those negotiations. all this happening as american embassies and military bases around the world are on high alert. senate dems are set to release an in-depth report on the cia's use of torture under president obama but there are fears that's what's in that r

mr. somers and mr. foley, it doesn't matter what country you're dealing with, or what group you're dealing with. >> sana, before we go, looking at yemen and the operation. the kidnapped people were killed, but the kidnappers were killed, too. is this a disincentive in the future? >> i don't think so. in the past three years we've seen kidnappers go wrong, the hostages resist and the hostages are killed. i think kidnappings will continue. i think americans can take precautions before going to yemen. they can go there and know who they're going to be with, know where they're doing. i think if foreigners stick with yemeni families, the families feel an obligation to care for them. i know a bunch of foreigners, werners, who have been living there for a while, and they're safe. >> thank you all, that brings us to the end of this edition of inside story. in washington, i'm ray suarez. >> coming up at 6:00 p.m. eastern on al jazeera america. a report that outlines c.i.a. torture methods used after 9/11 is due

mr. somers, al qaeda in yemen posted this video showing him for the first time. he was working as a photo journalist in yemen when he was kidnapped last year. let's listen just very briefly to some of what he said on the tape. >> my name is luke somers, i'm 33 years old, i was born in england but i carry american citizenship and have lived in america for most of my life. >> now, as you say, michaela, late last month u.s. special forces staged a raid inside yemen trying to free him. and other hostagesing he apparently had been moved a short time before the commandos got there. also on the tape an al qaeda operative makes that statement. threatening mr. somers with a quote inevitable fate if their demands are not met within three days. of course we don't know when that three-day clock runs out. we don't know exactly when this tape was made. the u.s. policy by all accounts remains intact. they do not negotiate with terrorists. u.s. officials say they are still looking for him. michaela? >> barbara starr, thanks to you. >>> more victims of sexual assault in the milit

mr. somers on saturday. that's why the raid was executed on very short notice on friday night. >> reporter: after landing six miles away under a full moon, more than three dozen members of the elite navy s.e.a.l. team six made it to within a hundred yards of the al qaeda hideout, when one of the guards spotted them as he relieved himself outside. u.s. officials say somers and korkie were both murdered bid their captors as the americans closed in. tragically, korkie was to be freed by al qaeda the very next day. the aid group he worked for said today they had agreed to pay a 2 $200,000 ransom for his release, but did not blame the u.s. for what happened. >> i can't be upset with the united states because this -- the united states was acting in their own interest. they were acting in the interest of their own citizen. any government would do that. >> reporter: u.s. officials said today, they did not know about the negotiations for the south african's release. and it's not clear what impact it would have had ha

mr. somers. >> reporter: the team undertook a daring nighttime rescue. eight hostages were recovered but somers and some others had already been moved. the pentagon is still looking for the american. jake? >> barbara starr, thank you so much. for more on the security threats facing americans and the united states, i want to continue our exclusive interview with jey johnson, the secretary of homeland security. secretary johnson, how concerned are you that this is the new m.o. for terrorists abroad? parade them before the cameras and kill them. >> jake, as your show just pointed out, in some cases, terrorist organizations do this simply for elicit revenue. others do it because they demonstrated the depravity to kill americans because they are americans. what i believe is significant now in addition to the threats we've faced from overseas, is the use of social media, literature that has a reach into the united states, that has the ability to reach individuals, so-called lone wolves here in the united states. which is why public engagement, by engagement wit

mr. somers. while our hearts are filled ith sorrow for the somers family, we are also feeling a lot of gratitude to were those men and women in uniform who risked their lives to try to secure his release. as i mentioned earlier in response to julie's question, this should be taken by militants around the world as a clear sign of this president's resolve to do everything ossible to rescue americans at -- who are being held hostage anywhere around the globe. militants or extremist organizations that decide to take the risk of taking an american hostage are put on notice today. >> and just one other thing. reports about ron leaving i think next march. does this feel like you have a good handle on the ebola crisis that he's able to leave? >> he is planning to leave because he originally came onboard in a status described as a special government employee. that is what allows individuals to serve the government or 130 days. his 130 days will be up at the beginning of march. at that time he's said he'll

mr. somers. >> reporter: the president getting support from a key republican for taking the risk. >> i commendent for acting because the intelligence showed an urgency to get in or they were going to kill this american hostage anyway. >> reporter: u.s. officials say they thought it was likely there was a second hostage at the site. but they did not know it was south african pierre korkie and they didn't know that his family believed he was about to be released the day following the raid. jake? >> the chairman and founder of the gift of the givers foundation. he had negotiated the release of pierre korkie from al qaeda in yemen before the rescue operation was attempted and joins me now from johannesburg, south african. dr. suleman, i would to first extend our condolences to the somers and korkie families. i know ms. korkie went to bed thinking her husband would be on his way home the next day and woke up to hear that her husband had been killed. how is she doing? >> she is doing very well under the circumstances. she's a very strong woman. but she's had 11 torrid months. i've had continuous dia

mr. somers. regrettably when the operation was executed, luke was not present, though hostages of other nationalities were present and they were rescued >> ifill: the al-qaeda group today gave the u.s. three days to meet unspecified demands, and save somers. gun battles rocked the capital of russia's southern province, chechnya, today. unknown attackers stormed a building in grozny, killing 10 policemen. ten of the attackers also died in the ensuing clashes, while the building burned. islamist separatists in chechnya have been fighting to break away for more than a decade. back in this country, thousands of low-income workers in the fast food, home care and airline industries staged protests, demanding a $15-dollar-an-hour minimum wage. organizers said rallies and strikes were being held in at least 190 cities, making them the most expansive yet. the demonstrations were backed by major labor unions. average premiums on healhtcare.gov will increase five percent on average next year. that according

mr. somers. >> now, barbara starrr tells us eight hostages were, in fact, rescued but luke and others had been moved. the u.s. is still looking for the kidnapped american. >>> all right still to come for you on cnn millions take cover in the philippines. a powerful typhoon is set to make landfall over the weekend. we'll bring you the latest on where and when. >>> plus, bill cosby counter t s sues a woman. the latest on his legal woes. and even piano tuners were just as simple? thanks to angie's list, now it is. we've made hiring anyone from a handyman to a dog walker as simple as a few clicks. buy their services directly at angieslist.com no more calling around. no more hassles. start shopping from a list of top-rated providers today. angie's list is revolutionizing local service again. visit angieslist.com today. they take us to worlds full of heroes and titans. for respawn, building the best interactive entertainment begins with the cloud. this is "titanfall," the first multi-player game built and run on microsoft azure. empowering gamers around the world to interact in ways they never

mr. somers on saturday.hort notice on friday night. >>> the policy is comprehensive. it is strong. it is tough. >>> definitely can bounce back from this. it's going to take time. it's not going to just take months. it may take years. >> i heard a baby cry. i'm like, there's no babies on this flight. >>> the lady stood up and said she just had a baby. >>> if my mother was here she'd not only be grateful and proud, she'd be beyond herself. she'd be sitting at the table beaming while very discreetly shoving croissants and silverware into her purse. >>> do you know who is coming to visit you today? >> princess. >> that's right. >> they think you're out of "frozen." >> if you liked our look back at the week, there's more where that all came from. log on to our facebook fan page wnnfans.com and check out in case you missed it. >> is that offbeat moments? >> that's one way to play it. >> commercial break video that we don't know is rolling. >> they don't tell me. they just put it up. >> it's fine. >> sometimes we d

mr. somers. >> i commend the president for acting, because the intelligence showed an urgency to get in,they were going to kill this american hostage anyway. >> reporter: it was the dead of night in yemen. u.s. officials say b-22 aircraft raced to a we mote region in eastern yemen. about 20 commandos from s.e.a.l. team six began hiking to the compound where somers and pierre korkie were being held. just yards from the target, dogs began parking. the u.s. says the seals were spotted. a firefight erupted. with aircraft keeping watch, the seals battled the terrorists. u.s. officials say one terrorist ran back into the compound, shooting somers and korkie. the u.s. did not know korkie was there. it was a desperate 30 minutes on the ground. the medics tried to stabilize both critically wounded men. they called for the b-22s to land as close as possible. but one hostage died on the aircraft. the other back on board a nearby navy ship. some in american hostage luke so somers' family say they wish more had been done to get him out earlier and that they were not consulted about the rescue mission

mr. somers death. by american forces to rescue him from terrorist groups in yemen. our hearts are full of sorrow tonight. our prayers and thoughts go out to the somers' family. there was also another hostage who was also killed. in that attempted rescue. and our prayers and thoughts go out to all the families involved. >> president obama explained his reasons for ordering the rescue attempt. and a fairly lengthy statement released this morning. what did the president have to say? >> strong words. he said in a statement this morning is that the united states strongly condemns the barbaric murder of luke somers during the resident accuse operation conducted in yemen. on behalf of the american people i offer my deepest condolences to luke's people and to his loved ones. and keep in mind this decision was made personally by the president himself yesterday here at the white house. and it is clear this morning he is feeling the weight of this responsibility. he also says in his statement that it is his highe

mr. somers and a second non u.s.he words of hagel, murdered by the terrorist during the course of the operation. >> plus. >> who do you serve? who do you protect? >> protests heat up nationwide with more planned for today. rolling stone apologizes for discrepancies in an article about gang rape. and parents learn the dark truth about a synthetic drug killing

mr. somers. >> woodruff: the associated press reported yemen's government did know about the korkie negotiations u.s. officials were present during recent conversations about him. on saturday, the head of the charity that employed korkie, gift of the givers, said his release had been set for sunday, one day after the raid. a ransom was reportedly being paid. >> it was really shocking, especially since last week i told yolande, which is pierre's wife that we will have pierre home for christmas. >> woodruff: relatives of luke somers also criticized the u.s. raid. coming days after a previous rescue attempt came up empty. >> i'm certain that my life is in danger. >> woodruff: u.s. officials said they had to try again, after al qaida in yemen threatened to murder somers, and showed him in this video released last week. they had set saturday as a deadline. so, late friday, operators from the navy's seal team six flew from djibouti across the gulf of aden, to shabwah province in southern yemen. various reports said they hiked several miles, but they were spotted as they closed in, and a gun battle ens

mr. somers. >> i commend the president for acting because the intelligence showed an urgency to get in where this american hostage anyway. >> reporter: it was the dead of night in yemen. u.s. officials say b-22 aircraft raced to a remote region in eastern yemen, about 30 commandos from s.e.a.l. team six and combat medics began hiking to the compound where luke somers and south african pierre korkie were being held. just yards from the target, dogs began barking. the u.s. says the s.e.a.l.s were spotted. a fire fight erupted with aircraft keeping watch, the s.e.a.l.s battled the terrorists. u.s. officials say one terrorist ran back into the compound shooting somers and korkie. the u.s. did not know ckorkie ws there. it was a desperate 30 minutes on the ground. the medics tried to stabilize both critically wounded men. they called for the b-22s to land as close as possible, but one hostage died on the aircraft, the other back on board a nearby navy ship. some in american hostage luke somers' family say they wish more had been done to get him out of yemen earlier and that they were not consulte

mr. somers life was in danger. president obama released a statement a short time ago saying not only was this based on the fact that captors in that video you mentioned saying he would be killed within 72 hours if the demands were not met. the president ordered this operation. unfortunately, during the course of it, both of the hostages murdereded by heir captors. remember, this is the second attempt to rescue luke somers. it was only on monday when another operation was conducted. that one, by the time u.s. special forces operations arrived at the locate, somers had been removed. they did rescue other hostages. one week, two attempts, sadly did failed. >> do we know, one what the demands were. and two, we are hearing that some of the terrorists were killed as well in this mission, that is correct? that's right. to the second question, first, a number of actors were killed -- public -- by officials, to be fair -- >> jim -- >> reporter: it's the general principle -- >> i'm sorry, i think we're having a technical pro

mr. somers. regrettably, when the operation was executed, luke was not present. though hostages of other nationalities were present, they were rescued. >> the video from al-qaeda in the arabian peninsula warns against anymore what they call foolish action by the u.s. government. >> libby casey for us in washington, d.c., thank you. >> this white house note, president obama is expected to nominate ash carter as the new defense secretary. carter previously served as the pentagon's number two. if confirmed, he will replace chuck hagel who announced his resignation last month. stay with aljazeera for live coverage of that announcement. >> carter will inherit a number of global conflicts involving the u.s. this morning, a huge explosion rocked kobane and syria. the blast is believed to be from coalition airstrikes on isil. militants are trying to take control there. the fight in kobane is stuck in a stalemate. >> day 82 of the battle for kobane and it remains pretty much a stalemate, both sides have 50-50 control, isil mainly to the eastern side of the city, syrian oc

mr. somers.we assessed there was a second hostage but did not know it was him and we were not aware of these activities that were being undertaken separately. >> would there have been coordination with the south africans if the u.s. had known a south african was also being held hostage there? >> there are a number of countries we work with around the world. if there are hostages somewhere where our hostages are located. but in this case, we didn't know he was the other hostage there. i think this just underscores we will go to any lengths to get americans home when they are held hostage overseas. unfortunately this ended tragically. >> and the u.s. did not notify the family of the american hostage in advance that navy s.e.a.l.s were about to be deployed, right? >> we constantly talk to the family and provide any assistance we need to. we don't typically outline the details of those for the family's privacy. >> and you don't want to jeopardize the operation, tell people about a classified mission

mr. somers on saturday.cuted on short notice on friday night. >> reporter: after landing six miles away, more than three dozen members of the navy s.e.a.l. team six made it to within 100 yards of the al qaeda hideout when one of the guards spotted him as he relieved himself outside. somers and korkie were both murdered by their captors at the americans closed in. tragically, korkie was to be freed the very next day. the group he worked for said they'd agreed to pay a $200,000 ransom for his release but did not blame the u.s. for what happened. >> i can't be upset with the united states because the united states was acting in their own interest. they were acting in the interest of their own citizen. any government would do that. >> reporter: the u.s. says it did not know about the ongoing negotiations for the south african's release. and it's not clear what impact it would have had, had they known. but it certainly would have been a tougher call for the president. brian ross, abc news, new york. >>> five form

mr. somers' life was in danger. they had very good reason to suspect he was going to be executed.t have a choice, right? >> right. right. i agree with that. and i don't always agree with this administration, i'll have toif gem this credit, i think they made the right call. they saw evidence his life was in danger, they made the decision to try to rescue him. >> yeah. >> go ahead. >> i wanted to ask you. we heard the choppers that carried the navy s.e.a.l.s landed a couple of miles away. in a place where they were being held, they would have heard the choppers coming in potentially. you have to land some ways away. but i'm thinking in the dead of night crossing rugged terrain, that in itself poses problems, doesn't it? >> well, you know, our guys, our men and women who serve and protect our freedoms, they take this job very, very seriously, and we prepare for all environments, all over the earth. and that's what we do. so certainly a challenge. but that's what we do. >> what about the training and the mentality that gives you the ability to undertake missions like this. you're send

mr. somers lost his life and others did as well.ght decision based upon the information he had. we have to let the enemy know that no matter what, we're going to pursue the rescue of americans when we have the information and have the operational capacity to take this step. >> and i've been speaking with people both on the military side and reporting side. i have colonel jack jacobs sitting here to address some questions in just a moment. but also richard engel reported with me earlier saying these rescue operations are incredibly difficult. statistically they have a greater likelihood of not working than working. that said, is there anything that makes you second-guess whether they are worth the risk? >> well, i certainly wouldn't second-guess in this instance. of course, i'm not armed with nor is anyone commenting today with the kind of intelligence that the president had and others. so there's a limitation to what we can say in terms of our analysis. but i think it was the right decision because if we send the message that americ

will luke somers and mr corky be alive if the u.s.aid the ransoms. >> you start with what is a difficult and possibly controversial aspects of this. yes, the american special operations went in to rescue the american. there was a south african held and he died as a result. the men group announced after the raid that they had secured the release or thought they had for the following day, sunday. >> if we hadn't rated, would the south african be alive. the americans would have been killed. they had announced that saturday was the deadline. u.s. intelligence thought it would be saturday. from their perspective, they had no choice but to make an attempt. i don't think there was a way the american would be released. as part of the process there risks. in this case it meant the disath of the south african. >> it's interesting because we hear about the dogs barking. because of drones and fighter jets and commandos, officials believe they lost the element of surprise. was it due to fail. was 40 commandos too many, given 23 were used in a raid

. >> the president condemned somers' death as quote, barbaric murder. mr. obama offered his condolences to the somers family. charlie d'agata is in our london bureau with more. >> reporter: official confirmation came this morning from chuck hagel. he said luke somers was murdered by al qaeda terrorists in yemen. a defense department official said he was apparently shot dead by his captors during a rescue attempt by u.s. navy s.e.a.l.s last night. something must have alerted his captors in the raid giving them enough time to shoot somers and a south african hostage who was also being held. the initial reports say when commandos reached somers he was alive but badly wounded. by the time he was flown to a u.s. naval ship he had died of his wounds. there were no u.s. military casualties. that hostage video released on thursday somers' captors threatened to kill him in three days unless the u.s. met their demands. somers was an american citizen but he was born in britain. we spoke to his stepfather and he said the family received the news at 5:00 a.m. this mornin

somers called for lifting the ban. department of commerce has granted licenses during the past year to a few oil companies to export a relatively small amount of an ultra light crude, as mrgreen mentioned. i believe it comes from shale. please correct me if i'm wrong. therefore, increased production would mean more fracking, would it not? it would? >> yes. >> among the companies exporting this are pioneer natural resources and enterprise product partners. which shale places are they get it from? >> eagle ford. >> where did it go? are there existing refineries in friendly parts of the world that would take and refine this crude? >> i think i can answer. i think it went into the far east, probably korea, maybe singapore market. i don't have -- the department of commerce has a different policy towards handling data than eia. this is considered proprietary information. i don't think it has been publically available. >> as i mention -- >> i could add, it's petrochemical feed stock. it's going to -- it's not going to refining. it's going to making petrochemicals. the far east makes sense. >> thank you. i'm asking these questions because obviously in addition to economics, ther