US Special Forces forced to abandon attempt to free Jordanian fighter pilot held hostage by ISIS after being shot down in Syria when their helicopters come under heavy fire
By Jack Crone for MailOnline 12:25 02 Jan 2015, updated 22:11 02 Jan 2015
- Failed mission took place in ISIS stronghold of Raqqa, northeastern Syria
- Heavy raids carried out while coalition forces attempted to deploy troops
- But two gunships carrying would-be-rescuers were forced to abort mission
- Jordanian pilot Muadh al-Kasasbeh was captured by ISIS on December 24
Two rescue missions carried out by US Special Forces to save hostages held by ISIS in Syria ended in failure last night, according to reports.
The botched operations took place in ISIS' de facto capital city of Raqqa yesterday - with the objective being to retrieve a number of hostages being held in the jihadist stronghold in northeastern Syria.
Among the captives they hoped to save was Muadh al-Kasasbeh - the Jordanian pilot who was captured by ISIS after his plane was downed over their territory.
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The 26-year-old is the first foreign military pilot to fall into the extremists' hands since an international coalition began its aerial campaign against ISIS in September.
According to activists, the failed operation took place around 20km east of the main city centre, The International Business Times reports.
Abu Ibrahim al-Raquaoui, an activist in Raqqa and administrator for the secret anti-ISIS campaign Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently, confirmed that the two rescue missions were attempted last night.
Five coalition aircrafts were said to have hovered at low altitude over Raqqa, while more than a dozen raids were carried out on the outskirts of the city.
A number of key ISIS buildings were destroyed, while at the other end of the city, two helicopter gunships attempted to deploy special forces on the ground to rescue the hostages.
But both gunships soon came under heavy fire and were forced to abort their attempt to land - as heavy clashes between coalition forces and militants ensued.
Another attempt was made to land in the countryside of eastern Raqqa between villages in the Alekershi area - but more fighting erupted.
The dozen or so airstrikes carried out while the rescue mission was underway were the heaviest on the city since ISIS captured Jordanian pilot Muadh al-Kasasbeh on December 24.
Activists say an ISIS military base was among the targets hit.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordination Committees activist collective also confirmed the air raids - but gave no indication on casualties.
As the new year arrived, U.S.-led coalition warplanes also targeted militants in Iraq and in the Syrian-Turkish border town of Kobane.
In Iraq targets were hit around the town of Mosul, which contains an important dam, Fallujah, which is located just to the east of Baghdad, and Sinjar, where thousands of Yazidis were forced to flee after ISIS fighters took the town earlier this year.
Last July, US Special Forces attempted to rescue several American and British hostages who were being held captive by ISIS in the al-Ekershi area in the eastern Raqqa countryside.
The operation ended in failure after militants moved the hostages to another location, just hours before the attempted rescue operation.
In August, the Pentagon confirmed it had attempted to rescue a number of captives held in Syria, including James Foley, the journalist killed in ISIS' first beheading video.
Jordanian army troops were reportedly involved in the previous rescue attempt, with some eyewitnesses claiming they saw soldiers wearing Jordanian army fatigues.
Two American soldiers were said to be injured in the mission, which took place near the Osama bin Laden training camp.
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