acknowledged its half billion dollar program to train moderate rebels failed. the ones in the fight is we re talking four or five. u.s.-led airstrikes took out the man who beheaded hosages in propaganda videos. we re reasonably certain that we killed the target that we intended to kill, which is jihady john. but the situation grew more complicated as russia started dropping bombs. president vladimir putin coordinating airstrikes we syrian dictator bashar al-assad. their basic theory how to solve syria has not worked and will not work. russia claimed to target islamic state fighter but many of their airstrikes reportedly hit u.s.-backed rebels. and when turkey shot down a russian fighter jet near its border with syria putin called it a stab in the back. at the same time, american troops assumed more risks.
acknowledged its half billion dollar program to train moderate rebels failed. the ones in the fight is we re talking four or five. u.s.-led airstrikes took out the man who beheaded hosages in propaganda videos. we re reasonably certain that we killed the target that we intended to kill, which is jihady john. but the situation grew more complicated as russia started dropping bombs. president vladimir putin coordinating airstrikes we syrian dictator bashar al-assad. their basic theory how to solve syria has not worked and will not work. russia claimed to target islamic state fighter but many of their airstrikes reportedly hit u.s.-backed rebels. and when turkey shot down a russian fighter jet near its border with syria putin called it a stab in the back. at the same time, american troops assumed more risks.
city but location of the troop. reporter: president obama responded by telling npr, the risk of killing innocent civilians is not acceptable. that is not who we are. that would be a strategy that would have an enormous backlash against the united states. it would be terp for national security. reporter: could the most sophisticated american officials strike raqqah s city hall with precision and take out only isis militants. no munitions can do that from the air without being up close on the ground. there are no forces on the ground for the u.s.-led coalition inside raqqah. human intelligence, limited. analysts say there is good air surveillance and that is how jihady john, believed to haven killed in mid-november by a drone, was targeted. reportedly spotted in the city of raqqah near the clock tower in the center of raqqah, spotted along this street in the open, in the predawn hours, and hit with little or no risk of civilian casualties.
isis. in a terrifying series of video, he graphically demonstrated the brutality of isis. you now have 72 hours. he was nicknamed jihady john and identified by his accent as british national, emwassy. they are reasonably certain that jihady john is a dead man. killed on the city street in raqqa, syria. killed by missiles from u.s. and british drones. as i say, when you re thwarted in one direction with one particular discipline, you try to compensate for it in other ways. like operating from the safety of space. jihady john tracked, targete and taken out, all with the help
through social media. reporter: commanding isis army of videographers and editors, the group s spokesman, said to be so important to isis he holds a position underite leader,ing abaghdadi. the guy chosen by isis to do battle when they had the big, you know, dogfight in early 2014 about who was right, isis or al qaeda. reporter: he has given several audio statements for isis but despite being a spokesman for the group he avoids appearing in any videos. analyst says that s for his own security. he s got a $5 million u.s. bounty on his head. and western forces have taken out several top isis media operatives like jihady john. the state department, which puts out, as you know, videos to counter isis, the criticism they can t seem to keep up with isis,