The father of a US Navy SEAL killed during an anti-terrorism raid in Yemen is demanding an investigation into its planning and criticised the Trump administration for its timing.
Bill Owens told The Miami Herald in a story published Sunday that he refused to meet with US President Donald Trump when both came to Dover Air Force Base to receive the casket carrying his son, Chief Special Warfare Officer William “Ryan” Owens.
“I want an investigation,” said Owens, a retired Fort Lauderdale police detective and veteran. “The government owes my son an investigation.”
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White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders told ABC’s This Week on Sunday she believes the president would support an investigation.
William Owens talks about his son, Navy SEAL William Ryan Owens, who was killed in Yemen on January 29. He keeps a large display of his son's medals and honours in his office in Lauderdale by the Sea, Florida. Photo: TNS
“I can’t imagine what this father is going through,” she said. “His son is a true American hero, and we should forever been in his son’s debt.”
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The younger Owens, a 36-year-old married father of three, was the lone US fatality in the January 27 raid on a suspected al-Qaeda compound. Approximately 16 civilians and 14 militants died in the raid, which the Pentagon said was aimed at capturing information on potential al-Qaeda attacks against the US and its allies.
US Navy SEAL William Owens, who was killed last month in a US commando raid in Yemen. Photo: US Naval Special Warfare Command
