Two activist groups inside Syria claim that the US-led coalition failed in an attempt on Thursday to rescue hostages from the Islamic State.
The attempt was preceded by at least 13 airstrikes on the jihadists at their base near Raqqa, the largest city controlled by the Islamic State, as reconnaissance aircraft hovered over the area.
According to Tahrir Souri and “Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently”, helicopter gunships then tried to land and rescue the hostages in eastern Raqqa Province. The operation failed when ISIS fighters confronted the airborne force and forced the helicopters to take off.
The activists say that two helicopter gunships also tried to land close to Raqqa but were forced to abort when they came under fire.
Last week, Jordanian pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh was captured by the Islamic State when his jet crashed in northern Syria.
In July, American forces landed in eastern Raqqa Province in an effort to rescue hostages, but they had been moved by the Islamic State a day earlier. Two US troops were injured during the landing near the jihadists’ Osama Bin Laden training camp.
A month later, the Islamic State began beheading their captives, including US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, American aid worker Peter Abdul-Rahman Kassig, and British aid workers David Haines and Alan Hemming.
