- .Luke Somers, 33, was being held hostage by al-Qaida militants in Yemen
- .Sister Lucy Somers has revealed he has been killed in a failed rescue bid
- .Reportedly shot by captors as U.S. commandos launched the operation
- .He was flown to a U.S. naval ship but died from injuries before his arrival
- .U.S. President Barack Obama this morning condemned killing as 'barbaric'
- .Comes days after militants threatened to kill him on a video posted online
- .His family had earlier pleaded with the militants to 'please, show mercy'
- .Mr Somers was kidnapped in September 2013 from Yemen's capital Sana'a
- .Reports emerge that a South African hostage was killed during raid in Shabwa province
Luke Somers had been held hostage since September 2013 in Yemen's capital Sana'a having moved to the country two years earlier.
The 33-year-old was reportedly shot by his captors as US commandos carried out a dramatic rescue bid in the southern Shabwa province late on Friday night.
Reports have now emerged that South African hostage Pierre Korkie was also killed during the operation - a day before he was due to be released.
Lucy Somers said she learned of her 33-year-old brother Luke Somers' death from FBI agents
Mr Somers was badly wounded when commandos found him and he died from his injuries by the time he had been flown to a naval ship, a U.S. official told the New York Times.
U.S. President Barack Obama this morning condemned killing as 'barbaric'.
His sister Lucy Somers told Associated Press that she learned of her brother's death from FBI agents at 5am this morning.
'We ask that all of Luke's family members be allowed to mourn in peace,' she said from London.
U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel this morning confirmed Mr Somers and a second hostage being held by terrorists in Yemen were 'murdered' during a rescue attempt ordered by President Barack Obama.
Hagel said there were 'compelling reasons to believe Somers' life was in imminent danger.'
British-born U.S. photojournalist Luke Somers (pictured), who was being held by al-Qaida militants in Yemen, has been killed in a failed rescue attempt, his sister has revealed today
Luke Somers was kidnapped in September 2013 from Yemen's capital Sana'a (shown in the map above)
Mr Somers moved from London to Sana'a, Yemen in 2011 to become a teacher, but soon started taking pictures of public demonstrations and established himself as a photojournalist working for the Yemen Times
He said Mr Somers and a second non-U.S. citizen were 'murdered by AQAP terrorists during the mission.' Hagel said that several terrorists were also killed in the mission carried out by U.S. special forces.
The humanitarian group Gift of Givers has said today that teacher Pierre Korkie was shot dead in crossfire during the bid to rescue Mr Somers - just a day before he was set to be freed.
Mr Korkie and his wife Yolande were reportedly captured by militants in May 2013 in Ta'iz, Yemen. But his wife was released after Gift of the Givers helped negotiate her freedom.
Earlier this week al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) issued a video with a message aimed at the US government threatening to kill Mr Somers if its demands were not met.
Last week the U.S. said it had attempted a rescue operation to free a number of hostages, including Mr Somers, but that he had not been at the site of the raid.
MURDERED SOUTH AFRICAN TEACHER 'WAS BEING RELEASED TOMORROW'
South African Pierre Korkie was killed in the attempted rescue mission by the United States - just a day before he was due to be released
South African Pierre Korkie was killed in the attempted rescue mission by the United States - just a day before he was due to be released, an aid group says.
Mr Korkie was killed in the failed effort to release hostages, Imtiaz Sooliman, founder of the Gift of the Givers group told the South African Press Agency.
Korkie was to be freed by al-Qaida on Sunday, Gift of the Givers said on Twitter.
'Leaders met in Aden this morning, preparing final security and logistical arrangements 2 bring Pierre 2 safety & freedom,' said tweeted the aid group.
Mr Korkie and his wife Yolande were taken hostage in Taiz, Yemen, in May 2013, the charity said.
A team had met in Aden this morning, preparing final security and logistical arrangements 2 bring the hostage to freedom, it claimed.
'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",' the charity tweeted to its 7,500 followers.
It added: 'All logistical arrangements were in place 2 safely fly Pierre out of Yemen under diplomatic cover.'
At the time of the kidnapping, Mr Korkie was a teacher in Yemen, while his wife was working in hospitals, News24 reports.
The family of Mr Somers had earlier pleaded for him to be released.
In an online video Miss Somers described her older brother as a romantic who 'always believes the best in people.' She added: 'Please let him live.'
His father Michael said Mr Somers was 'a good friend of Yemen and the Yemeni people'.
It came after the release of the AQAP video which begins with a reading in Arabic from Nasser bin Ali al Ansi, an AQAP official, before Mr Somers appears and gives a statement in English.
He said: '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.
'It's now been well over a year since I've been kidnapped in Sana'a. Basically, I'm looking for any help that can get me out of this situation. I'm certain that my life is in danger.
'So as I sit here now, I ask if anything can be done, please let it be done. Thank you very much.'
Al Ansi gave the US government three days to meet the demands or 'otherwise, the American hostage held by us will meet his inevitable fate'.
Militants released a video on Thursday that showed Mr Somers, threatening to kill him in three days if the United States did not meet the group's demands
Nasser bin Ali al Ansi, senior official in Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, pictured, spoke for two minutes and thirty seconds during the video where he threatened to kill Mr Somers within three days
The three-minute video also features Ansi speaking about American activity in Afghanistan, Somalia and Iraq as well as recent air strikes in Syria.
It follows similar videos by another extremist militant group, Islamic State (IS), which has already killed two British hostages and three American hostages in videos released on social media.
IS has posted a series of videos online showing the separate murders of US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, US aid worker Peter Kassig and two British aid workers, David Haines and Alan Henning.
Footage claiming to show Mr Henning's murder appeared on the internet just days after the UK joined US-led air strikes against the terrorists in Iraq.
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 security official said.
The drone struck at dawn in Yemen's southern Shabwa province, hitting a suspected militant hideout, the official said.
American commandos tried to rescue Mr Somers in a raid on an AQAP camp late last month, but he had been moved by the time they arrived
Begging for mercy: Luke's brother, Jordan (left), and his mother, Paula Somers (right), released a video on Thursday asking his al-Qaeda captors to release him
The official did not elaborate and spoke on condition of anonymity as he wasn't authorised to brief journalists.
At least six suspected militants were killed in an airstrike in the same province last month.
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 incredibly unpopular in Yemen due to civilian casualties, legitimising for many the attacks on American interests.
In a statement on Thursday, Pentagon press secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby acknowledged for the first time that a mysterious U.S. raid last month had sought to rescue Mr Somers but that he turned out not to be at the site.
Kirby did not elaborate on the joint U.S-Yemeni operation to free Mr 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.
Mr Somers, a Briton and four others had been moved days earlier.
Mr Somers was kidnapped in September 2013 as he left a supermarket in the Yemeni capital, Sana'a, said Fakhri al-Arashi, chief editor of the National Yemen, where Mr Somers worked as a copy editor and a freelance photographer during the 2011 uprising in Yemen.
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.
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