WASHINGTON, DC -- Today, after the Obama Administration announced that Dr. Warren Weinstein, 73, an American aid worker held captive by al Qaeda since 2011, and Giovanni Lo Porto, an Italian national who had been an al Qaeda hostage since 2012, were killed in January during a U.S. counter-terrorism operation on an al Qaida facility in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), the Ranking Member of the Armed Services Committee, issued the following statement:

“I am deeply saddened by this tragedy.  The President has personally apologized to the Weinstein and Lo Porto families and our thoughts and prayers are with them.  Dr. Weinstein and Mr. Lo Porto are innocent victims who were cruelly kidnapped by al Qaeda and tragically killed during lethal operations against an al Qaeda compound.  Nothing can ever bring them back, but there must be further investigation and accounting of this matter to prevent this kind of tragedy from happening again.

“This underscores the critical need to constantly reevaluate the intelligence and procedures used in conducting these very difficult, challenging operations.”

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