A CIA drone strike in January aimed at al Qaeda inadvertently killed two hostages — one American, Dr. Warren Weinstein, and one Italian, Giovanni Lo Porto — the White House revealed Thursday. Though the CIA had been closely monitoring the suspected al Qaeda compound on the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan, it "had no reason to believe either hostage was present" at the time of the strike, the administration said in a statement.
"I take full responsibility for all our counterterrorism operations," President Obama said Thursday in an address from the White House, adding, "I profoundly regret what happened."
The White House is probing the incident to determine if it should lead to changes in the administration's controversial escalation of drone strikes.
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"We will identify the lessons that can be learned from this tragedy and any changes that should be made," Obama said.
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