Trivia

The title "Ser du månon, Daniel"? ("Do you see the moon, Daniel?") is from the book by Puk Damsgaard Andersen by the same title, where Daniel's mother writes in her diary while he's captive and comforts herself by knowing that they're under the same.

Since Daniel Rye came home, he has been holding talks about his capturing all over Denmark. He used the income to pay of all those who contributed to pay his ransom. Today, Daniel still travel the world as a photographer.

The meetings with the Danish government were filmed at the offices of VESTAS Wind System A/S.

In June 2014, ISIS released Danish photojournalist and fellow hostage Daniel Rye Ottosen, and Ottosen called Foley's family to recite a memorized message that came to be known as James Foley's final letter. In it, Foley addressed members of his family, and described his captivity in a cell with 17 other hostages, who passed the time with improvised strategy games and lectures. The family released the letter on their Facebook page shortly after Foley's death.

In July 2014, U.S. President Barack Obama authorized a "substantial and complex" rescue operation after the U.S. intelligence community said a "broad collection of intelligence" led them to believe that the hostages were being held at a specific location in Syria. However, the mission failed because the hostages had been moved. The operation involved special operations forces from multiple branches of the U.S. military, including: the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, helicopters, fixed wing aircraft, and drones. When Delta Force commandos landed in the eastern Syrian city of Raqqa, they were met with gunfire, and it became apparent that the hostages had been moved. ISIS suffered numerous casualties, while American forces suffered a single minor injury. The operation was only declassified after Foley's death. It represented the first confirmation of U.S. troops operating on the ground within Syria during the Syrian Civil War.

The video of Foley being beheaded was shot at an unknown desert location, and media sources gave the name "Jihadi John" to the man (later discovered to be Mohammed Emwazi) who made the threats and spoke with a "Multicultural London English" accent. Mohammed Emwazi, who murdered Foley, was killed in a targeted drone strike in Raqqa in November 2015.