When Luke Somers was killed during a failed rescue attempt by the U.S. and Yemen, someone else who wasn't supposed to be there died: Somers' cellmate, Pierre Korkie.
It took 18 months, but a civilian group in South Africa had arranged for the release of Yolande Korkie, a woman held hostage by al-Qaeda with her husband in 2013, and they were about to deliver the $200,000 ransom required to release Pierre Korkie, Yolande's husband, according to The New York Times.
On Saturday morning, a fleet of cars was ready to drive to a remote location where the hostage was being held. (The New York Times reports that Korkie was 54-years-old, while the Daily Mail reports that he was 57 at the time of his death). Imtiaz Sooliman, the director of the aid group, sent Yolande Korkie a text message at 6 a.m.: "The waiting is almost over."
At 8:03 a.m. Sooliman received the phone call telling him that Pierre Korkie was dead, according to the New York Times. "That's when I got the call. I said, 'How can Pierre be dead? They are going now!"
Just a few hours before Pierre Korkie, who went to Yemen as a teacher, was to be exchanged for cash, Luke Somers and eight other civilians, including Pierre Korkie, were killed.
U.S. officials say they were not aware of the arrangement between the South African civilian group and al-Qaeda. The South African government has the same policy as the United States of not paying ransoms to terrorists.
"The night before, I spent hours on the phone with Yolande to try to calm her down," said Sooliman, according to The New York Times. "I told her, 'I'll call you the moment Pierre is in our hands.' She went to sleep with that good feeling in her heart."
News.i.Africa.com reported that a barking dog gave away the approaching U.S. Navy Seals. There was a shootout and the hostages were in critical condition when it was over. Korkie and Somers did not respond to emergency treatment.
The Seals have gotten some criticism for "destroying everything," according to the Daily Mail, but Yolande Korkie released a statement on Sunday saying she forgives the tragic events of that morning.
"Today we choose to forgive," she said, according to the Daily Mail. "We choose to love. We choose to rejoice in the memories of Pierre and keep him alive in our hearts."
"Even though the pain is overwhelming us right now, we choose to believe that this too shall pass," she continued. "Although we were separated in the flesh after 228 days when I was released, I remained with him in spirit until the end."
Gift of the Givers, the charity that arranged the funds for the ransom, said that after months of arrangements, it had hoped for a positive outcome. "Three days ago we told her (Yolande), 'Pierre will be home for Christmas,'" the charity said in a statement, according to the Daily Mail. "We certainly did not mean it in the manner it has unfolded."
