Was there a hostage rescue attempt in Syria this week? Washington Post

A Blackhawk helicopter on a training mission. Washington Post/US Navy.

The Pentagon is denying reports that they mounted a failed rescue mission against ISIS forces in Raqqa, Syria. Washington Post. Reports from the Syrian activist group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently claim that an unusually high number of airstrikes occurred in the area. After the strikes two failed attempts to land helicopters were observed. The helicopters came under fire and were forced to withdraw. The activist group has been right about failed rescue attempts before. Back on July 3rd they were the first to report the failed rescue attempt after the execution of James Foley, an American journalist. If such a rescue attempt did happen it was probably to rescue the Jordanian pilot that crashed last week. 

My Comment:

Not sure what to think on this one. If the United States did conduct a rescue mission then I would not be surprised. I also wouldn't be surprised if they lied about it if it failed. These failed rescue missions, and there have been a lot of them lately, are a propaganda coup for ISIS. The last thing the United States government needs is to hand ISIS more propaganda fodder. 

As for the raid itself, it is possible that it wasn't even U.S. forces conducting it. They are, of course, not the only group in the area. Jordan is possible suspect as well. After all they do want to get their pilot back. That would also explain why there were unable to pull it off. No disrespect to the military of Jordan, but compared to the United States they have a lot less experience with these kind of operations. 

Of course it is possible that the Pentagon is telling the truth and no coalition partners did this raid. That only leaves the Syrians, and I doubt they would want to pick a fight in Raqqa. I'm not sure they even have that capability anymore. It's possible that there was no raid as well. The Syrian activists were right once but given the chaotic situation in Syria and the fact that their information seems to be second hand this whole thing could be a ridiculous rumor.