Also on Wednesday, the Pentagon said the US had “attempted a rescue operation recently to free a number of American hostages held in Syria”.<\/p>\n
It said the operation “involved air and ground components”.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"http:\/\/news.bbcimg.co.uk\/media\/images\/77072000\/jpg\/_77072753_023559556-1.jpg\")
US forces have been carrying out air strikes in northern Iraq for almost two weeks<\/strong><\/div>\n![\"Kurdish](\"http:\/\/news.bbcimg.co.uk\/media\/images\/77072000\/jpg\/_77072749_023559602-1.jpg\")
Kurdish forces are pushing into the hills south west of the dam above Mosul<\/strong><\/div>\n“Unfortunately, the mission was not successful because the hostages were not present at the targeted location.”<\/p>\n
It was the first time the US government had acknowledged that its forces had operated in Syria since the country’s civil war began in 2011.<\/p>\n
The New York Times newspaper quoted unnamed US officials as saying the raid occurred at a oil refinery in the north.<\/p>\n
They say commandos were dropped by helicopters, but found that the hostages had recently been moved.<\/p>\n
The statement did not specify whether the operation had intended to rescue Foley, who was kidnapped in Syria in November 2012.<\/p>\n
However, senior US officials – speaking on condition of anonymity – confirmed this. They added that the troops had killed several IS militants.<\/p>\n
Foley, 40, had reported across the Middle East, working for US publication GlobalPost and other media outlets.<\/p>\n
The parents of James Foley described their son as a “martyr for freedom”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
‘Warning to Obama’<\/strong><\/p>\n In the IS video, titled A Message to America, a man identified as\u00a0James Foley\u00a0is dressed in an orange jumpsuit, kneeling in desert-like terrain beside an armed man dressed in black.<\/p>\n He gives a message to his family and links his imminent death to the US bombing campaign in Iraq.<\/p>\n Clearly under duress, he says: “I call on my friends, family and loved ones to rise up against my real killers, the US government, for what will happen to me is only a result of their complacency and criminality.”<\/p>\n Then the masked militant – who speaks with a British accent – delivers a warning to the US president: “Any attempt by you, Obama, to deny the Muslims their rights of living in safety under the Islamic caliphate will result in the bloodshed of your people.”<\/p>\n After he speaks, the militant appears to start cutting at his captive’s neck before the video fades to black.<\/p>\n Another captive, identified as\u00a0American journalist Steven Sotloff, is shown at the end, with the warning that his fate depends on President Obama’s next move.<\/p>\n Mr Sotloff was abducted in northern Syria a year ago.<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" US aircraft have launched fresh strikes against Islamic State (IS) militants in northern Iraq, despite threats from the group to kill a second American captive in retribution for continued attacks. US Navy fighters and drones provided air cover to Kurdish and Iraqi forces battling IS near the city of Mosul. On Tuesday the group released […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":40872,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[2050,14],"yoast_head":"\n