ISIS hostage rescue attempts by U.S. Special Forces were abandoned after the team took heavy fire in Syria. Jordanian fighter pilot Muadh al-Kasasbeh was reportedly being held in the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa – in northern Syria.

The U.S. Special Forces were carried to Syria to rescue the Jordanian fighter pilot via two gunships. Muadh al-Kasasbeh was captured by ISIS on December 24. Heavy raids on Islamic State fighters were carried out by coalition troops during the rescue attempt last night.

Muadh al-Kasasbeh, 26, if the first military pilot to be captured by ISIS since the international coalition forces began fighting the Islamic State in September. The Jordanian fighter pilot was reportedly one of several captives who would have been saved had the U.S. Special Forces rescue mission not been abandoned in Syria.

Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently anti-ISIS campaign activist Abu Ibrahim al-Raquaoui confirmed that two hostage rescue missions were attempted on January 1, according to an International Business Times report. Five coalition aircrafts reportedly hovered over Raqqa at a low altitude while approximately one dozed raids were launched upon on the outskirts of the Syrian city.

Multiple ISIS buildings were believed destroyed during the Raqqa raid. While the raids were conducted, two helicopter gunships reportedly tried to deploy the U.S. Special Forces team. The gunships took heavy fire and ultimately aborted their final attempt to land. Intense clashes took place between the ISIS fighters and coalition forces on the ground.

The fighting in Raqqa last night was reportedly the heaviest such action since ISIS captured the Jordanian fighter pilot. An Islamic State military base might have been included in the targets hit during the evening raids. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an England-based group, and the Local Coordination Committees also confirmed that the ISIS raids took place, but offered no details on the number of casualties or target destruction.

Warplanes belonging to the United States led military coalition also targeted ISIS fighters in the Turkish border town of Kobane and in Iraq this week. Targets in the Mosul, a town which reportedly includes an “important dam,” were reportedly hit during the raids. ISIS targets in Fallujah and Sinjar were also among the areas impacted by the international coalition raids. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, thousands of Yazidis were forced to flee the Sinjar and Fallujah regions due to ISIS control earlier this year.

What do you think about the U.S. Special Forces raid to rescue the Jordanian fighter pilot and other ISIS captives?

[Image via: Tactical Report]