The officials said the group of SEAL members, backed by Army Rangers, are believed to have missed the men by hours. On Thursday, Taliban fighters were on the verge of overrunning Tirin Kot, the capital of Oruzgan Province in the south, Afghan officials and local elders said. The Obama administration has not shied away from launching risky rescue raids, but the record has been mixed. But a military raid in July 2014 to free several American and Western hostages held by the Islamic State in Syria failed because the captives had already been moved. Once in Pakistan, the hostages are essentially beyond the reach of American and European forces, which can operate across Afghanistan but cannot legally launch raids inside Pakistan.

Source: New York Times September 08, 2016 21:11 UTC