Obama regrets U.S. drone attack that killed 2 Al-Qaida hostages, including Maryland man

WASHINGTON (AP) -- An American and an Italian held hostage by al-Qaida, as well as two Americans working with the terror group, were inadvertently killed by U.S. drone strikes earlier this year, the government revealed Thursday.

President Barack Obama said he took "full responsibility" for the counterterror missions and offered his "grief and condolences" to the families of the hostages.

Obama defended the legality of the January drone strike that killed the hostages and said there had been no evidence that the two men were present at what the U.S. had determined was an al-Qaida compound.

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