 U.S. special operations forces early this summer launched a secret, major rescue operation in Syria to save James Foley and a number of Americans held by the extremist group ISIS, but the mission failed because the hostages weren’t there, senior administration officials told ABC News today. "The U.S. government had what we believed was sufficient intelligence, and when the opportunity presented itself, the President authorized the Department of Defense to move aggressively to recover our citizens," Lisa Monaco, the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, wrote in a statement. They are believed to number at least four, one of whom, freelance journalist Steven Joel Sotloff, also appeared in the Foley video, as the executioner warned that “the life of this American citizen, Obama, depends on your next decision.” 
 
 The failed operation “was conducted by a joint force with virtually every service represented,” one of the senior officials said, including “special operators and aircraft both rotary and fixed-wing,” with surveillance aircraft overhead. That official said that there were a “good number” of militant casualties at the site but that one U.S. service member received a “minor injury when one aircraft did take some fire.” 
 
 The two senior officials declined to specify the location of the raid, whether the hostages had ever been there, the specific U.S. units that had taken part in the operation or how long they were on the ground. As to how the intelligence failed and why the hostages were not there, the official said, “The truth is, we don’t know. Obama said Wednesday that the United States “will be vigilant and we will be relentless” against the Islamic State group and will “do what’s necessary to see that justice is done” to Foley’s killers. ABC News' Rhonda Schwartz, Lee Ferran and Matthew Mosk contributed to this report.
– It was nearly a happy ending for James Foley. US special forces mounted a secret rescue mission in Syria this summer to free Foley and other Americans, but the hostages were nowhere to be found, reports the Washington Post. Several dozen US troops landed at the unspecified location and engaged in a firefight with militants from the Islamic State, but “while on site, it became apparent the hostages were not there,” a US official tells ABC News. One US service member was injured before the troops evacuated. “Intelligence is not a perfect science,” says a senior official. "When we got there, they weren’t there. We don’t know why that is.” The mission took place after US authorities debriefed six Western hostages who had been freed by the militants. President Obama, who promised today to "see that justice is done," authorized the mission once intelligence agencies believed they had pinpointed the site, reports AP. It's not clear how many Americans are being held, but the militants have threatened to kill freelance journalist Steven Joel Sotloff next.