ACLU sues for documents in Yemen raid that killed Navy SEAL

A civil rights group asked a court Monday to force the U.S. government to divulge more information about a January raid in Yemen that resulted in the death of a U.S. Navy sailor and Yemeni civilians.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit in Manhattan federal court, saying it wants to learn the legal basis and decision-making process that preceded the Jan. 28 raid on an al-Qaida compound. It said in the lawsuit that the raid “raised deep concerns about the legal and factual basis, planning and execution of the operation.”

Chief Special Warfare Operator William “Ryan” Owens, 36, of Peoria, Illinois, died the day of the attack of wounds sustained during the raid. The Navy SEAL was the first known U.S. military combat casualty since President Donald Trump was sworn in on Jan. 20. Several other U.S. service members were injured in the mission.

The nonprofit organization said it filed Freedom of Information Act requests in March with the Central Intelligence Agency and the departments of defense, justice and state after the government released scant information about the raid following its internal investigation.

 

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Featured image courtesy of DoD.