Luke Daniel Somers was a British-born American photojournalist who had been held hostage by the militant Islamist group al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen.
14 Facts About Luke Somers
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Luke Somers was a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and the United States.
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Luke Somers was so dedicated in trying to help change Yemen's future, to do good things for the people that he didn't leave the country [Yemen] his entire time here.
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Luke Somers was born in London, England, but grew up in Sacramento, California and Renton, Washington.
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Luke Somers graduated from Beloit College in Wisconsin with a bachelor's degree in creative writing in 2008, and later traveled to Egypt before settling in Yemen.
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Luke Somers's pictures were featured in the BBC and Al Jazeera.
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Luke Somers was a freelance photographer for the Yemen Times.
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Luke Somers was kidnapped by Al Qaeda in Sana'a, the capital of Yemen, in September 2013.
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In December 2014, Luke Somers appeared in a video that was issued by AQAP.
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The mission to rescue Luke Somers was disclosed in response to the release of the video by AQAP.
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Friends of Luke Somers organized petitions, vigils, Twitter pages, and Facebook groups to gather support for his safe release.
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Previous intelligence indicated that some hostages had been moved several days earlier, but it was not then known if Luke Somers was among them.
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Korkie died during the flight and Luke Somers died after the Ospreys landed on the USS Makin Island.
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Information "indicated that Luke Somers's life was in imminent danger," said US President Barack Obama.