Blitzes, which occurred at around 20 kilometers from the center of Raqqa, were part of a complex operation, where the Coalition air forces carried out 7 air raids as a diversion. While the bombing raids were taking place, two helicopters tried to infiltrate two teams of raiders to retrieve the prisoners in Rumelia, an area east of Raqqa.
The operation would have failed because the jihadist guards guarding the hostages, after having detected the approaching aircraft, would have forced them to regain altitude under the heavy machine gun fire.
The second attempt failed in the Raqqa campaign, more precisely in the Alekershi area.
It is conceivable that the lack of exfiltration and the consequent killing of the hostages could generate negative geopolitical effects such as to destabilize the area and the Coalition. In fact the Jordanian authorities were in talks with the kidnappers for the release of Lieutenant Kassasbeh, but the jihadists' requests included the exit of Amman from the Coalition, in addition to the release of some terrorists from Jordanian prisons.
An unacceptable hypothesis for the US, as different departments and many Coalition aircraft are based in Jordan, but this interference in the negotiation could still facilitate the exit process of the Jordanians, and other Sunni countries could follow suit, turning it into a domino effect in favor of the Caliphate. If this scenario does not occur, having stopped the ongoing negotiations between Amman and ISIS, it seems to be mediated by tribal chiefs of the Iraqi province of al-Anbar, it will surely make relations between the Americans and Jordanians more complicated.
Giovanni Caprara
(photo: US DoD / web archive)
