US Vs al Qaeda: AQAP threatens to kill Luke Somers after US’ failed rescue mission

Al Qaeda’s Yemeni branch threatened to kill American photojournalist Luke Somers within three days if the United States opts not to comply with its demands in a video released late on Wednesday.

Luke Somers was kidnapped off a street in Sanaa, Yemen last September by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula militants.

The United States acknowledged it coordinated a secret mission on November 25 to rescue Somers from a cave in a remote area of northeastern Yemen.

American forces including the Navy’s elite SEAL Team Six and Yemeni counterterrorism troops arrived in the area by helicopter.

During the operation, the forces engaged in a fierce gunfight that led to the deaths of seven militants.

However, Somers was not rescued as it is believed he had been moved to another location two days before the raid. The forces rescued eight hostages, six of them Yemeni, one a Saudi national and another from Ethiopia.

The three-day deadline is the shortest given by al Qaeda in years. Analysts believe they may under pressure to become more aggressive because of rivalry with other extremist groups such as the Islamic State.