Officials: US rescue mission in Syria failed
President Barack Obama sent special operations troops to Syria this summer on a secret mission to rescue American hostages.
The list of individuals known to be held included journalist James Foley. Under the control of Islamic State group extremists the troops failed to find them, the Obama administration said.
Officials said the rescue mission was authorised after intelligence agencies believed they had identified the location inside Syria where the hostages were being held.
But the several dozen special operations forces dropped by aircraft into Syria did not find them at that location and engaged in a firefight with Islamic State militants before departing.
"The US government had what we believed was sufficient intelligence, and when the opportunity presented itself, the president authorised the Department of Defence to move aggressively to recover our citizens," said Lisa Monaco, Obama's top counterterrorism adviser, in a statement.
"Unfortunately, that mission was ultimately not successful because the hostages were not present."
Officials disclosed the rescue operation a day after the militants released a video showing the beheading of Foley and threatened to kill a second hostage, Steven Sotloff, if US airstrikes against the militants in Iraq continued.
Despite the militants' threats, the US launched a new barrage of airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria. The Obama administration did not rule out the prospect of a military operation in Syria to bring those responsible for Foley's death to justice.
The disclosure of the rescue mission marks the first time the US has revealed that American military personnel have been on the ground in Syria since a bloody civil war there broke out more than three years ago.
Obama has resisted calls to insert the US military in the middle of Syria's war, a cautious approach his critics say has allowed the Islamic State to strengthen there and make gains across the border in Iraq.
A number of militants, but no Americans, were killed in the firefight in Syria. One American sustained a minor injury when an aircraft was hit, officials said.
"As we have said repeatedly, the United States government is committed to the safety and well-being of its citizens, particularly those suffering in captivity," Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said in a statement.
"In this case, we put the best of the United States military in harm's way to try and bring our citizens home."
"The United States government uses the full breadth of our military, intelligence and diplomatic capabilities to bring people home whenever we can. The United States will not tolerate the abduction of our people, and will work tirelessly to secure the safety of our citizens and to hold their captors accountable."
It's unclear how many Americans the special forces attempted to rescue in Syria. While the officials who described the mission would not provide an exact number, other US officials, who were not authorised to speak publicly, have said Foley was one of at least four Americans held in Syria.
Like Foley, two others are believed to have been kidnapped by the Islamic State group. The fourth, freelance journalist Austin Tice, disappeared in Syria in August 2012 and is believed to be in the custody of government forces in Syria.
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Administration officials would not say specifically when or where the operation took place, citing the need to protect operational details in order to preserve the ability to carry out future rescue missions.
They did say that nearly every branch of the military was involved and that the special forces on the ground were supported from the air by fixed wing, rotary and surveillance aircraft.
Obama has authorised previous military missions to rescue hostages. In 2009, Navy SEAL snipers carried out a daring sea operation to rescue an American ship captain held by Somali pirates in a lifeboat. And in 2012, special operations forces successfully rescued an American and Dutch aid worked held in Somalia.
Morning news break – August 21
