Pierre Korkie killed as US rescue backfires

At 6AM yesterday Yolande Korkie was thrilled at news that her husband, Pierre, held captive by al-Qaeda in Yemen for 19 months, would be making his way home today.

Just hours later, she got a phone call that confirmed the 56-year-old Bloemfontein teacher had been killed in a failed US rescue mission.

President Barack Obama said he authorised the raid in which Korkie died to rescue US photographer Luke Somers - who also died during the raid - and other hostages held by al-Qaeda in the same place.

He said information "indicated that Luke's life was in imminent danger". Obama included a reference to Korkie in a statement later: "I also offer my thoughts and prayers to the family of a non-US citizen hostage who was also murdered by these terrorists."

Korkie's death came a week after South African aid worker Werner Groenewald and his teenage children, Jean-Pierre, 17, and Rode, 15, were killed in Kabul, Afghanistan by the Taliban.

The 56-year-old Korkie's release was imminent according to the charity Gift of the Givers which helped secure the release of Yolande in January.

Earlier this week the organisation told Yolande that her husband would be home before Christmas.

"All logistical arrangements were in place to safely fly Pierre out of Yemen under diplomatic cover, then to meet with family members in a safe country, fly to South Africa, and directly to hospital for total medical evaluation and appropriate intervention."

Pierre Korkie had been extremely ill for months and was completely deaf in one ear while he had only about 30% hearing in the other.

Shortly after securing Yolande's release, negotiators lost contact with al-Qaeda completely but during the month of Ramadan in June tribal leaders slowly started re-establishing contact, finally negotiating directly with leadership in August.

The initial ransom demand was for $3-million (about R34-million) but further negotiations saw this being dropped to $700000. During the penultimate negotiations, tribal elders travelling to meet with al-Qaeda were killed by a drone attack.

Despite this, elders agreed to make one final attempt to free Korkie. Finally, it was agreed the family would pay $200000 to compensate the families of those killed in the drone attack and for further humanitarian relief to be focused on Yemen.

But yesterday, after news arrived that Obama had confirmed the death of Korkie, the rescue mission was abandoned.

Yolande Korkie was said to be shattered by the news after months of anxiety and waiting. She sent Imtiaz Sooliman of Gift of the Givers a text message yesterday saying: "I'm devastated, we are all devastated."

Yolande's release was achieved with the help of Yemeni aid worker Anas al-Hamati, who risked his own life to meet the kidnappers face to face.

Hamati subsequently fled his country after the kidnappers wrongly accused him of withholding the R34-million ransom they demanded for Pierre's release.

Yesterday a spokesman for the South African Department of International Relations, Nelson Kgwete, said Korkie had been caught in the crossfire during the commando raid.

He said the US forces had Korkie's body, which was at a secret location in Yemen.

"We will make arrangements to bring his body home [from Yemen]," Kgwete said.

He dismissed talk of Korkie's imminent release as "just a rumour".

The department, he said, had a team, which included police, working to secure the release of the deeply religious Pierre.

"We sent Deputy Minister of International Relations and Co-operation Ebrahim Ebrahim to negotiate directly with the security forces in Yemen, who assured us they'll make an effort."

He said members of that team were in contact with the Yemeni officials.

"This morning Yemeni officials called the South African police and informed them of this incident."

A Gift of the Givers statement said: "We received with sadness the news that Pierre was killed in an attempt by American special forces, in the early hours of this morning, to free hostages in Yemen.

"The psychological and emotional devastation to Yolande and her family will be compounded by the knowledge that Pierre was to be released by al-Qaeda tomorrow," it said.

Korkie and his wife were kidnapped in May 2013 in Yemen's second city of Taiz.

The couple had worked as teachers in Yemen for four years at the time. Their children, Pieter-Ben, 16, and Lize-Mari, 14, returned to South Africa following the kidnap.

Yesterday Gift of the Givers said that Korkie was just hours from being freed when US commandos launched their operation.

The charity said a meeting in Aden had been held to prepare for the final arrangements of Korkie's release.

"It is even more tragic that the words we used in a conversation with Yolande at 5.59 this morning [Saturday] were 'the wait is almost over'.

"Three days ago we told her, 'Pierre will be home for Christmas.' We certainly did not mean it in the manner it has unfolded," the Gift of the Givers spokesman said.

US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said that Korkie and Somers had been killed by their captors.

"Both Mr Somers and a second non-US citizen hostage were murdered by the terrorists during the course of the operation," Hagel said, without specifying the name of Korkie. Hagel was speaking from Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, where he is on a visit.

Hundreds of people have been abducted in Yemen in the past 15 years, nearly all of whom have been freed unharmed.

Most kidnappings of foreigners are carried out by members of Yemen's powerful tribes who use them as bargaining chips in disputes with the central government.

Yolande launched a public appeal for the money to pay his ransom after she was freed in January.

Negotiations for his release broke down temporarily in January after the kidnappers accused a member of the negotiating team of stealing the ransom money.

According to Yemen's defence ministry, 10 militants were killed in the commando raid conducted by US and Yemeni forces in Shabwa province in southeast Yemen.

A tribal leader said soldiers were seen parachuting into the area.

Heavy clashes ensued in Nusab, a militant stronghold, according to residents who reported hearing loud explosions.

Hagel said the operation "is a reminder of America's unrelenting commitment to the safety of our fellow citizens - wherever they might be around the world".

The US has said that American and Yemeni forces had already tried unsuccessfully to rescue Somers last month.

According to Yemen's defence ministry, al-Qaeda moved hostages, including Somers, Korkie and a Briton days before that US-Yemeni raid in south-eastern Hadramawt province. Yemeni officials said eight other hostages were freed in the earlier operation.

Yemen is a key US ally in the fight against al-Qaeda, allowing Washington to conduct a longstanding drone war against the group on its territory.

Two US journalists, James Foley and Steven Sotloff, American aid worker Peter Kassig and British aid workers Alan Henning and David Haines have been beheaded by the Islamic State that controls parts of Syria and Iraq.

Al-Qaeda has exploited instability in impoverished Yemen since a 2011 uprising forced president Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down.

In recent years there has been a growing number of abductions in Yemen by al-Qaeda.

The militants remain active in southern and eastern regions of Yemen despite several military campaigns by government forces.

Al-Qaeda militants have allied with Sunni tribesmen in southern Yemen to halt the advance of Shiite Huthi militias who seized Sanaa in September unopposed.

- Additional reporting by AFP