Seventy Kurdish hostages were rescued after special U.S. forces, working with Kurdish commandos, attacked an Islamic State outpost located near the Iraqi town of Hawija. One U.S. soldier was killed in the raid.

As reported by The New York Times, Iraqi officials announced that the raid involved American helicopters, Kurdish and American Special Operations forces, as well as airstrikes. These airstrikes blocked off the roads leading to the compound.

Najmaldin Karim, the governor of the surrounding Kirkuk Province, said via telephone interview with The Times that the forces had successfully raided the ISIS prison and “were able to take people with them.”

The rescue operation came more than a month after Kurdish security forces announced that ISIS had kidnapped dozens of fighters near Hawija. CNN reports that there is no confirmation that last night’s rescue was related to that kidnapping.

However, Reuters is reporting, via Twitter, that 5 ISIS soldiers were captured by American forces.

In other ISIS-related news, Russia's recent military efforts to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have reportedly thwarted the terrorist group’s attempts to control the country.

According to Vladimir Chizov, Russian Ambassador to the EU, his nation’s military action in the region has been fundamental in countering ISIS' designs on Syria, saying, "Had there not been Russian intervention, the civil war perhaps would have ended earlier, with the destruction of the Syrian army and the government, and total control of ISIS over the whole territory."

As reported by CNN, Chizov explained that, before Russia got involved, ISIS had escalated events in Syria to a dramatic level, saying, "In spite of all of the bombings for over a year by the United States and their allies, ISIS was far from being defeated."

In a nod to the U.S., a nation that has not condoned Russia’s actions in Syria, Chizov said, "We will be able to pronounce the famous words 'mission accomplished' when ISIS and related terrorist groups are destroyed and can no longer influence the situation in Syria.”