US Forces 'Tried, Failed to Rescue Foley'
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Barack Obama sent US troops to Syria this summer on a secret mission to rescue Americans, including beheaded journalist James Foley, held by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant group but the operation failed, officials said.
Officials told the AP that 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 ISIL fighters before departing.
"This operation involved air and ground components and was focused on a particular captor network within ISIL [currently known as IS]. Unfortunately, the mission was not successful because the hostages were not present at the targeted location," a Pentagon statement said on Wednesday without specifying which hostages were involved.
A number of the IS fighters, but no Americans, were killed, officials told AP.
The 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.
Obama had earlier on Wednesday vowed that the US would not stop its airstrikes against the ISIL group because it beheaded Foley, an act he said was proof that the fighters stand for no religion.
Obama's response to the killing marked his strongest condemnation yet of the group, calling it a "cancer" with a bankrupt ideology.
His remarks came shortly after the White House announced that a video showing the beheading of Foley had been authenticated by US intelligence, Reuters news agency reported.
"The United States of America will continue to do what we must do to protect our people," Obama said.
"We will be vigilant and we will be relentless. When people harm Americans, anywhere, we do what's necessary to see that justice is done."
