Washington, April 24 (RHC)-- U.S. President Barack Obama has apologized after the White House revealed a U.S. drone strike in Pakistan killed an American government contractor and an Italian aid worker held hostage by al-Qaeda in January.

Despite hundreds of hours of surveillance and near-constant visibility of the al-Qaeda site, officials said they did not know the hostages were there. Officials said the strike also killed an American linked to al-Qaeda, Ahmed Farouq, while another American, al-Qaeda member Adam Gadahn, was killed in a separate strike.

Obama apologized to the families of hostages Warren Weinstein and Giovanni Lo Porto. There are also independent reports that the U.S. government will offer to financially compensate the families of their unintended victims.