Story highlights A Navy SEAL was killed when the mission came under attack from al Qaeda

The Yemen raid is part of a new strategy for dealing with AQAP

Washington (CNN) The White House asked the Pentagon for information it could make public in President Donald Trump's Tuesday night address about a controversial Special Operation raid in Yemen to better explain the mission's purpose and demonstrate that the results were worth its costs, CNN has learned.

The request came Monday night, two administration officials said. They stressed, though, that it's not clear what details the speech will actually include, if any, as it continues to be revised.

The White House confirmed that it had spoken to the Pentagon, but a senior administration official who has seen the address said the raid is not referred to in the current version -- but that's not a guarantee that it won't end up in there by 9 p.m.

The controversial raid on an al Qaeda affiliate, conducted one week into Trump's presidency, was the US military's first on-the-ground mission in Yemen since his election. A Navy SEAL and several civilians were killed when the team came under attack from al Qaeda, with others wounded and a US aircraft lost.

The administration described the raid as a success. But it has been criticized by the father of the fallen Navy SEAL, as well as some members of Congress who have raised questions about the value of the mission.

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