U.S. Navy SEALs had walked nearly seven miles from their landing zone in southern Yemen and were within about 300 feet of the al-Qaeda compound where American journalist Luke Somers was being held when they suddenly came under fire, U.S. officials said Saturday. 
 
 As the commandos battled in the darkness, night-vision cameras in aircraft hovering overhead watched one militant hurry to the building housing Somers. By the time the Americans fought their way there, the militant was gone and Somers and another hostage, South African teacher Pierre Korkie, lay mortally wounded. 
 
 Korkie died aboard a rescue aircraft, according to officials who provided details of the operation. Somers survived to reach a nearby Navy ship, the USS Makin Island, where he died while undergoing surgery. 
 
 No casualties were reported among the 40-person U.S. rescue team. 
 
 In the wake of the rescue attempt, which took place at 1 a.m. Saturday, Yemen time (5 p.m. Friday in Washington), officials said that the decision to undertake it was made after U.S. intelligence determined his al-Qaeda captors were about to execute Somers. 
 
 Luke Somers and Pierre Korkie (European Pressphoto Agency) 
 
 But the failure to bring the hostages out alive, following two earlier attempts to rescue U.S. captives in recent months, was likely to raise questions about the operations and the intelligence that preceded them. 
 
 Last summer’s raid to rescue Americans being held in Syria by the ­Islamic State, and an attempt to rescue Somers two weeks ago, did not succeed because in both cases the hostages had been moved before the commandos arrived. Two of the Islamic State hostages, journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, were later executed. 
 
 In a video released Wednesday following the initial attempt to rescue Somers, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) warned “Obama and the American government of the consequences of proceeding ahead in any other foolish action.�? 
 
 The threat to execute Somers within 72 hours, if unspecified demands were not met, led to operational planning for a second rescue attempt, which President Obama approved early Friday. Officials said U.S. intelligence gleaned from the first attempt contributed to their certainty of where Somers was being held, in a group of compounds that make up a small village in Shabwah governate, a remote region along the Gulf of Aden. Defense, intelligence and administration officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details of the secret operation. 
 
 The commandos did not know of Korkie’s presence in the compound. They had unconfirmed reports that another hostage might be with Somers but thought it would be someone else, a British citizen also being held by AQAP. 
 
 The tragedy of the South African’s death appeared to worsen when the South African relief organization that employed him, Gift of the Givers Foundation, said that his negotiated release had been expected Sunday. 
 
 Korkie, who had been working as a teacher in Yemen, and his wife, Yolande, were abducted in May 2013. Yolande Korkie was released from captivity in January, according to a post on the foundation’s Web site. 
 
 Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in the Arabian Peninsula threatened to kill Luke Somers, an American photojournalist, after U.S. commandos attempted to free him. (Reuters) 
 
 Somers, 33, a British-born U.S. citizen, was abducted in September 2013 from the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, on a busy street near a supermarket. He had been working in the country as a freelance photojournalist. 
 
 Hostage executions, video­-recorded by militants and disseminated online and via social media, have placed increasing pressure on the Obama administration to launch rescue attempts. While a number of militant-held European hostages have been released in exchange for million-dollar ransoms, the administration has said that payment will only increase the number of hostages taken. It has refused to pay and has pressured other governments not to participate in ransom negotiations. 
 
 Although the administration last spring traded five Taliban detainees from the prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for a U.S. serviceman captured in Afghanistan and being held in Pakistan, it described that negotiation as an exchange of war prisoners rather than a hostage ransom. 
 
 The three failed attempts to rescue hostages alive through military means come as U.S. Special Forces have conducted a series of successful raids to capture wanted militants. In June, Ahmed Abu Khattala, indicted for alleged participation in the 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya, that left four American officials dead, was snatched in a raid in Libya. He is awaiting trial in this country. 
 
 But taking a suspect off the street at a time of U.S. choosing and rescuing hostages held by well-armed militants anticipating a raid are different matters. 
 
 As described by U.S. officials, about 40 Navy SEALs were transported from the USS Makin Island, said to be located “in close proximity to Yemen,�? aboard V-22 Osprey aircraft that fly like airplanes but can land like helicopters. Using night-vision equipment, they began walking over terrain described as “hilly, scrubby�? and “rough.�? 
 
 As the team members approached the compound and were about 300 feet away, “they lost the element of surprise,�? an official said, and a firefight with the militants began. Officials said they were not certain how the team had been spotted. 
 
 Because of the direction of fire, a defense official said, they were nearly 100 percent certain that Somers and the other hostage were killed by the AQAP militants and not in crossfire. 
 
 Via overhead surveillance that was maintained throughout the rescue attempt, one militant was seen going into the building where Somers was known to be held, a senior administration official said. The militant stayed “for about a five to seven count . . . long enough, of course, to shoot people or take any other action. We didn’t have visibility inside.�? 
 
 By the time the commandos reached the building, the administration official said, “the terrorist had already fled.�? 
 
 The defense official said five AQAP militants were killed in the firefight. None were captured. 
 
 The wounded hostages, found inside the building, were immediately evacuated aboard an Osprey, but “one perished on the way�? to the USS Makin Island and “the other on the operating table�? aboard the ship, an amphibious assault vessel. 
 
 The U.S. forces were not on the ground more than 30 minutes, said the defense official, who described it as “a quick fight.�? 
 
 A flurry of Twitter postings from jihadists in Yemen claimed that three U.S. “Marines�? and eight Yemeni special forces were killed during the operation. 
 
 Reached Saturday by the Associated Press, Somers’s sister, Lucy Somers, said the family had been notified of his death by the FBI but asked that the family be “allowed to mourn in peace.�? 
 
 Since Somers’s kidnapping last year, his family had appealed for news of the abduction not to be made public. But after the AQAP video was released Wednesday, the family released their own video. 
 
 “He is a good person, and he has only been trying to do good things for the Yemeni population. He goes out of his way to care for and respect the common person, and he has made many lasting friends in Yemen,�? Somers’s brother said in the video. “Luke is only a photojournalist, and he is not responsible for any action the U.S. government has taken. Please understand that we had no prior knowledge of the rescue attempt for Luke and we mean no harm to anyone.�? 
 
 His mother also spoke, pleading for mercy. 
 
 “Give us an opportunity to see our Luke again. He is all that we have.�? 
 
 Missy Ryan in Kabul contributed to this report. ||||| SANAA, Yemen (AP) — An American photojournalist and a South African aid worker held by al-Qaida militants in Yemen have been killed in a failed U.S. rescue attempt, authorities said Saturday. 
 
 FILE - In this Monday, Feb. 11, 2013 file photo, Luke Somers, 33, an American photojournalist who was kidnapped over a year ago by al-Qaida, poses for a picture during a parade marking the second anniversary... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - This image made from video posted online by militants on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2014, which has been verified and is consistent with other AP reporting, shows Luke Somers, an American photojournalist... (Associated Press) 
 
 This image made from militant video posted online by militants on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2014, which has been verified and is consistent with other AP reporting, shows Luke Somers, an American photojournalist... (Associated Press) 
 
 U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel speaks to the media about his trip to Afghanistan while aboard his aircraft Andrews Air Force Base Friday, Dec. 5, 2014. (AP Photo/Mark Wilson, Pool) (Associated Press) 
 
 Speaking in Afghanistan, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Luke Somers "and a second non-U.S. citizen hostage were murdered" by al-Qaida militants during the raid. 
 
 The aid group Gift of Givers later identified the second hostage as South African teacher Pierre Korkie, who the group said was to be released Sunday. They said he was to be flown out of Yemen "under diplomatic cover, then to meet with family members in a 'safe' country (and) fly to South Africa." 
 
 Hagel did not identify Korkie by name. 
 
 "Yesterday by the order of the president of the United States, U.S. special operations forces conducted a mission in Yemen to rescue a U.S. citizen Luke Somers and any other foreign nationals held hostage with him," Hagel said. "There were compelling reasons to believe Somers' life was in imminent danger." 
 
 Lucy Somers, the photojournalist's sister, told The Associated Press that she and her father learned of her 33-year-old brother's death from FBI agents at 0500 GMT (12 a.m. EST) Saturday. 
 
 "We ask that all of Luke's family members be allowed to mourn in peace," Lucy Somers said from London. 
 
 Yemen's national security chief, Maj. Gen. Ali al-Ahmadi, said the militants planned to kill Luke Somers on Saturday. 
 
 "Al-Qaida promised to conduct the execution (of Somers) today so there was an attempt to save them but unfortunately they shot the hostage before or during the attack," al-Ahmadi said at a conference in Manama, Bahrain. "He was freed but unfortunately he was dead." 
 
 Yemen's local al-Qaida branch, Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, posted a video Thursday that showed Somers, threatening to kill him in three days if the United States didn't meet the group's demands, which weren't specified. He was kidnapped in September 2013 from Sanaa. 
 
 The news of the failed rescue comes after a suspected U.S. drone strike in Yemen killed nine alleged al-Qaida militants early Saturday, a Yemeni security official said before news of Somers' death. The drone struck at dawn in Yemen's southern Shabwa province, hitting a suspected militant hideout, the official said. The official did not elaborate and spoke on condition of anonymity as he wasn't authorized to brief journalists. 
 
 Later Saturday, tribal leaders said they saw helicopters flying over an area called Wadi Abdan in Shabwa province. 
 
 American authorities rarely discuss their drone strike campaign in Yemen. The strikes are despised by many in Yemen due to civilian casualties, legitimizing for many the attacks on American interests. At least six suspected militants were killed in an airstrike in the same province last month. 
 
 Before her brother's death, Lucy Somers released an online video describing him as a romantic who "always believes the best in people." She ended with the plea: "Please let him live." 
 
 In a statement, Somers' father, Michael, also called his son "a good friend of Yemen and the Yemeni people" and asked for his safe release. 
 
 Korkie was kidnapped in the Yemeni city of Taiz in May, along with his wife Yolande. His wife later was released returned to South Africa. A non-governmental group, Gift of the Givers, helped mediate her release. Those close to Korkie said al-Qaida militants demanded a $3 million ransom for his release. 
 
 "The psychological and emotional devastation to Yolande and her family will be compounded by the knowledge that Pierre was to be released by al Qaida tomorrow," Gift of Givers said in a statement Saturday. "A team of Abyan leaders met in Aden this morning and were preparing the final security and logistical arrangements, related to hostage release mechanisms, to bring Pierre to safety and freedom. It is even more tragic that the words we used in a conversation with Yolande at 5.59 this morning was 'The wait is almost over.'" 
 
 In a statement Thursday, Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby acknowledged for the first time that a mysterious U.S. raid last month had sought to rescue Somers but that he turned out not to be at the site. The U.S. considers Yemen's al-Qaida branch to be the world's most dangerous arm of the group as it has been linked to several failed attacks on the U.S. homeland. 
 
 Kirby did not elaborate on the joint U.S-Yemeni operation to free Somers, saying details remained classified. However, officials have said the raid targeted a remote al-Qaida safe haven in a desert region near the Saudi border. Eight captives — including Yemenis, a Saudi and an Ethiopian — were freed. Somers, a Briton and four others had been moved days earlier. 
 
 Somers was kidnapped in September 2013 as he left a supermarket in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, said Fakhri al-Arashi, chief editor of the National Yemen, where Somers worked as a copy editor and a freelance photographer during the 2011 uprising in Yemen. 
 
 Somers, who was born in Britain, earned a bachelor's degree in creative writing while attending Beloit College in Wisconsin from 2004 through 2007. 
 
 "He really wanted to understand the world," said Shawn Gillen, an English professor and chairman of Beloit College's journalism program who had Gillen as a student. 
 
 Fuad Al Kadas, who called Somers one of his best friends, said Somers spent time in Egypt before finding work in Yemen. Somers started teaching English at a Yemen school but quickly established himself as a one of the few foreign photographers in the country, he said. 
 
 "He is a great man with a kind heart who really loves the Yemeni people and the country," Al Kadas wrote in an email from Yemen. He said he last saw Somers the day before he was kidnapped. 
 
 "He was so dedicated in trying to help change Yemen's future, to do good things for the people that he didn't leave the country his entire time here," Al Kadas wrote. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Associated Press writers Maamoun Youssef, Sarah El Deeb, Maggie Michael and Jon Gambrell in Cairo, Robert Burns in Kabul, Afghanistan, Andrew Meldrum in Johannesburg and Yusof Abdul-Rahman in London contributed to this report.
– American photojournalist Luke Somers is dead after a rescue attempt by American forces in Yemen, reports the Washington Post. Defense chief Chuck Hagel says that US troops tried to free the 33-year-old Somers because his execution was "imminent," but that his al-Qaeda keepers killed him during the raid. Another hostage identified as South African teacher Pierre Korkie also was killed, reports AP. "We ask that all of Luke's family members be allowed to mourn in peace," said sister Lucy Somers in London. Her brother was kidnapped last year from the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, and US forces had tried to free him in a previous raid. "Al-Qaeda promised to conduct the execution (of Somers) today so there was an attempt to save them, but unfortunately they shot the hostage before or during the attack," says Yemen's national security chief. Somers' father, Michael, had called his son "a good friend of Yemen and the Yemeni people" in a video prior to his death. Luke Somers had worked as a copy editor and photographer for the National Yemen. The charity group Gift of Givers says the South African hostage with him had been scheduled for release tomorrow.