Obama: 'I profoundly regret' deaths of U.S., Italian hostages

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday apologized for a counterterrorism operation in January that accidentally killed two aid workers held hostage by al Qaeda, American Warren Weinstein and Italian Giovanni Lo Porto. "As a husband and as a father, I cannot begin to imagine the anguish that the Weinstein and Lo Porto families are enduring today," Obama told reporters, with a deep sigh, saying he took responsibility for the deaths and has ordered a full review. "I profoundly regret what happened," Obama said, explaining he declassified some of the details of the operation so that the families could know what happened. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton and Julia Edwards; Editing by Susan Heavey)