Washington revealed it had failed in an operation to free US hostages in Syria.

Washington revealed it had failed in an operation to free US hostages in neighboring Syria.

It came a day after ISIL released a video showing a masked militant beheading US reporter James Foley, provoking worldwide revulsion and condemnation.

US forces had tried but failed to rescue Foley and other US hostages held in Syria by the ISIL, officials and reports said.

The Pentagon and the White House did not say if the covert mission earlier this summer was to rescue Foley, who was kidnapped in northern Syria in November 2012.

However US media, citing senior Obama administration officials, said Foley was among those US Special Operations commandos were trying to rescue.

"This operation involved air and ground components and was focused on a particular captor network within ISIL (IS)," Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said in a statement.
   
   
"Unfortunately, the mission was not successful because the hostages were not present at the targeted location."

Obama "authorized action at this time because it was the national security team's assessment that these hostages were in danger with each passing day in ISIL (IS) custody," a White House statement added.