[3][4] The first raid, attempted on 25 November 2014, involved American and Yemeni special forces assaulting a cave in Hadhramaut governorate housing the hostages, killing seven AQAP fighters in the process.

[5] Somers' death, occurring five months after the failed rescue attempt of James Foley, resulted in scrutiny over the United States' hostage policy, which restricts any official government negotiations or ransom considerations.

[11] Yemeni tribesmen have often used kidnappings as a bargaining chip to force the government to improve their living standards and local infrastructure, as well as to release imprisoned members of their tribe.

[14] In contrast to the Islamic State, AQAP had never murdered their foreign hostages prior to the rescue missions, instead boasting about their superior treatment of captives and condemning ISIL's beheadings.

[18] The primary component of this campaign has been the usage of drone strikes for targeted killings against the groups leaders, though the U.S. has also sent special forces units in non-combat roles to train Yemeni soldiers.

[20] In response, the United States launched an unprecedented amount of drone strikes against the group in 2012 and sent additional ground forces to train Yemeni soldiers participating in the military offensive to reclaim the lost territory.

[34] Hadi may have authorized the mission in an attempt to improve his image and relationship with the United States amid the Houthi takeover of Sana'a just months earlier.

[35][3] During the pre-dawn hours of 25 November 2014, a team of thirty soldiers composed of about two dozen U.S. Navy SEALs from DEVGRU leading a small group of Yemeni special forces flew via helicopters into Hajr as-Say'ar district.

[23] One group of SEALs, equipped with night-vision goggles, opened fire on seven AQAP fighters 100 yards away from the entrance of the cave, who were caught by surprise from the nighttime assault.

[27][41] The three-minute video depicts AQAP commander and cleric Nasser bin Ali al-Ansi describing in Arabic various "crimes" that U.S. counterterrorism has inflicted upon the people of Yemen, Iraq, Somalia and Pakistan.

[42] Al-Ansi criticizes the U.S. government for their "failed operation" in Hadhramaut which killed seven of their "elite group of mujahedeen," warning the United States against conducting any other "foolish action.

[43] The same day, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby officially acknowledged the United States' involvement in the raid in November as well as their inability to retrieve Somers.

[43][31] On 5 December, U.S. President Barack Obama and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel determined that Somers' life was in "imminent danger" and that the government had enough intelligence on the location of the hostages to conduct another raid to free the captives.

[31][29] On 6 December 2014 at approximately 1:00 a.m. AST (UTC+3), a group of forty DEVGRU soldiers were transported in two V-22 Ospreys from the USS Makin Island to the Wadi Abadan in Nisab District, Shabwah, about 10 km from the compound where Luke Somers and Pierre Korkie were being housed.

[47] After hiking to Dafaar, while the SEALs were about 100 yards away from the site, an AQAP member relieving himself outside or a barking dog may have alerted the guards, leading to a firefight that lasted for about 10 minutes.

[48][47] Once the SEALs killed the militants and entered the compound they found Somers and Korkie with several gunshot wounds, possibly inflicted by an AQAP guard who ran into the house shortly after being alerted to the DEVGRU raid before returning to the firefight.

[46] In a written statement released after the second raid, Barack Obama offered condolences to the families of Somers and Korkie and condemned their execution by AQAP, labeling it a "barbaric murder".

[26] On 12 December 2014, AQAP released a video through their al-Malahem Media Foundation in which they blamed Obama for making the "wrong decision", stating that the American government ignoring negotiations and proceeding with the rescue mission lead to Somers' death.

[71][70][26] Common complaints from the families included inconsistent interactions between them and federal officials, distribution of confusing and contradictory information from the government and anger in part due to threats of criminal charges if they considered paying ransoms.

[73] The remaining 125 U.S. special forces soldiers advising the Yemeni military were withdrawn in March 2015 amid the collapse of the Hadi government and the Houthi takeover of power.

[77] The lack of U.S. ground presence and intelligence-gathering in Yemen allowed for AQAP to significantly expand their power during the civil war, capturing swathes of territory in the south of the country during the year, though drone strikes still continued to target the group.