The family of American hostage Warren Weinstein, who was killed accidentally by a U.S. drone strike, believes that the private ransom it sent to the captors went to the wrong terrorist group,
CNN reports.
Weinstein, the director in Pakistan for J.E. Austin Associates, a business development company, was abducted in August 2011, supposedly by al-Qaida terrorists in Lahore, Pakistan.
Although his family sent money to the people they believed were the kidnappers, Weinstein was not released. Instead, the White House received a prisoner exchange demand for terrorists held in the U.S.
And now, according to CNN, the family fears that the ransom ended up in the hands of terrorists who were not holding Weinstein.
The captors who initially described themselves as "Afghans" were apparently replaced by militants who connected themselves with acts of terrorism, including the Islamic State beheading of American James Foley, CNN reports.
The White House admitted this month that Weinstein was killed in January inadvertently by a U.S. counterterrorism drone strike on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, along with an Italian hostage, Giovanni Lo Porto, and an American al-Qaida leader, Ahmed Farouq.
They were reportedly killed by a "signature strike," which is launched based on evidence suggesting that a high-value target is inside a location, without knowing who is actually inside.
According to reports, Weinstein's wife, Elaine, later said, “We hope that my husband’s death and the others who have faced similar tragedies in recent months will finally prompt the U.S. Government to take its responsibilities seriously and establish a coordinated and consistent approach to supporting hostages and their families."
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