U.S. journalist killed during failed rescue raid

SANA'A, Yemen, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- A U.S. photojournalist who was held hostage has been killed in Yemen during a second failed rescue raid.

Luke Somers' sister, Lucy, said the family was informed by an FBI agent.

The news came following a second operation by U.S. and Yemeni forces to free Somers, 33, a year after he was kidnapped by militants in Sana'a. He was apparently shot by his captors during the raid and died of his injuries as he was being flown to an American Navy ship in the region, a U.S. official told the New York Times.

A drone strike at dawn in Yemen's southern Shabwa province killed nine suspected al-Qaida fighters in an operation that may have been linked to the raid.

Yemeni extremist group Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula posted a video Thursday showing Somers and threatening to kill him in three days if the United States didn't meet the group's demands, which weren't specified on the video. On the same video, Somers pleaded for help to save his life.

U.S. Special Operation commandos and Yemeni troops launched a rescue raid to free Somers last month, but he had been quickly moved just days before the operation — though eight other hostages were saved.