Dramatic rescue of ISIS hostages shown on helmet cam
IRBIL, Iraq - The Kurdish regional government in northern Iraq released a video Sunday showing the joint raid of a prison by U.S. and Kurdish peshmerga forces in which they released 70 hostages held by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS.)
Pentagon officials confirmed the footage's authenticity to CBS News, which can be seen in the above video player.
The helmet camera footage shows the Thursday raid of the prison which was controlled by ISIS militants in the town of Huwija, 9 miles west of the Iraqi city of Kirkuk.
A line of panicked men in traditional ankle-length garments are seen running past the camera, some with their hands up, as Arabic-speaking men scream at them, "Let's go! Let's go!" Gunfire rings out non-stop in the background. The soldiers as seen walking through a dark room with ISIS' trademark black flag draped on the wall. The rescued hostages are then frisked for weapons and led away.
Officials later said about 20 of the rescued hostages were members of Iraqi security forces.
Army Master Sgt. Joshua L. Wheeler, 39, of Roland, Oklahoma, was killed during the raid, officials said. He was the first American to die in combat since the U.S. launched Operation Inherent Resolve last year.
The raid marked the first time U.S. troops were involved in direct ground combat in Iraq since the war against ISIS was launched in August 2014.
U.S. officials said the plan for the rescue mission had called for the U.S. troops, who are members of the elite and secretive Delta Force, to stay back from the prison compound and let the Kurds do the fighting. The Americans transported the Kurds to the scene aboard five U.S. helicopters.
The predawn raid involved 30 U.S. Special Operations Forces, including Delta Force commandos and Kurdish fighters.
The American forces were there to advise and assist, not to be an assault force -- but that role changed when the U.S. troops saw the Kurdish Peshmerga get pinned down in a heavy exchange of fire with ISIS fighters.
"That call was made on the ground," said a U.S. defense official.
It was the first time that Kurdish Peshmerga forces asked for U.S. assistance in a hostage rescue. While they suspected that ISIS had imprisoned some of their fellow Kurds at the prison complex, the commandos were surprised to find that the vast majority of the hostages were Sunni Arab civilians from the local town along with 20 Iraqi security forces.
They also discovered that ISIS held some of their own fighters hostage, accused of being spies and scheduled for execution.
The raid raised questions about President Obama's vow not to put U.S. soldiers into combat in Iraq. But Pentagon Spokesperson Peter Cook said the Special Operations forces were only assisting the Kurdish fighters.
"In that support role, they are allowed to defend themselves and also defend partner forces and to protect against the loss of innocent life," Cook said.
When asked whether the raid justified the loss of an American life, defense officials said that they did save the lives of the hostages and also collected valuable intelligence.
The rescue was launched after U.S. intelligence saw evidence of mass graves being dug inside the walls of the prison compound. Some of the freed hostages told U.S. officials ISIS had told them they would all be killed after their morning prayers.