Qaeda blames US for Yemen hostage deaths

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) blamed President Barack Obama for the deaths of a US journalist and a South African during a failed hostage rescue attempt, in a video released Thursday.  

AQAP also claimed a rocket attack on the "American section" of Al-Anad air base in the southern province of Lahij, according to US-based monitor SITE Intelligence Group.

The militants claims that the base is being used by US drones to launch strikes in Yemen.

US drones frequently attack suspected al-Qaeda sites in Yemen. According to rights groups, 97 suspected al-Qaeda operatives and 33 civilians were killed in a total of 35 US drone attacks last year alone.

Yemen has acknowledged that US personnel gathering intelligence for drone strikes on AQAP are deployed at Al-Anad, which a military official confirmed was attacked Thursday.

AQAP said the attack was in revenge for the "killing of Muslims" during a failed military operation to rescue US journalist Luke Somers, SITE reported.

Somers and South African teacher Pierre Korkie were shot and fatally wounded by their captors Saturday when American commandos stormed the al-Qaeda hideout where they were being held in southeastern Yemen, US officials said.

"Obama made the wrong decision, and signed the death warrant" of Somers, AQAP official Nasser bin Ali al-Ansi said in the video.

Ansi said Obama had ordered the assault "despite our warning that he should not do anything foolish".

The failed operation came just a day before Korkie, 57, was due to be freed under a deal with the kidnappers, although the US ambassador to South Africa has said Washington was unaware of his impending release.

"Obama made a decision that caused things to take a completely different turn to what we wanted," Ansi said.

"He could have avoided the fate of this hostage, which was the inevitable consequence of the military solution," he added.

Ansi said AQAP was seeking the release of detainees held by the United States, including blind Egyptian sheikh Omar Abdul Rahman and Pakistani Aafia Siddiqui, jailed on terrorism charges.

Yemen is a key ally of the United States, allowing Washington to carry out a longstanding drone war on its territory against AQAP.