Washington, March 10: A top US commander responsible for oversea raiding of Yemen earlier this year, has taken full responsibility for the controversial airstrike which resulted in eliminating not just the terrorists but also killed a naval serviceman and some civilians.

"I am responsible for this mission. We did lose a lot in this operation including a valued operator ( referring to the dealth of Cheif petty officer William Owens)," General Joseph Votel, commander of US Central Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday. 
 
In addition to Owens' death, the raid last month left three servicemen injured; killed between four to 12 civilians, including an eight-year-old daughter of dead Al Qaeda preacher Anwar al-Awlaki; and resulted in the destruction of a MV-22 Osprey aircraft.
 
 Trump touted the importance of the raid in his joint address to Congress in February, with White House spokesman Sean Spicer telling reporters at the time that the mission "gathered an unbelievable amount of intelligence that will prevent the potential deaths or attacks on American soil."
 
But lawmakers have fiercely contested that characterisation and pressed for more answers about what it accomplished even as Owens father pushed for further investigation into the raids.