U.S.' secret summer operation to rescue Americans in Syria ended in failure: U.S. officials

According to Senior Obama administration officials, a secret operation launched by the U.S. special operations forces to rescue Americans held by Islamic State militants in Syria including the photojournalist James Foley who was beheaded by the IS group had resulted in a failure, said senior Obama administration officials.

According to the Washington Post, two senior officials said that the U.S. had launched the operation earlier in the summer in an attempt to save American citizens.

U.S. President Barack Obama said in a conference after the journalist James Foley was beheaded that the Islamic State militants did not deserve to live in this century.

Officials said that they had a combination of intelligence that helped them launch the operation.

The operation did not turn into a failure immediately because the hostages were not present at the site of the operation.