A top Islamic State leader and two other ISIS insurgents were killed by U.S. military troops in a rare raid in northwest Syria on Friday, according to the Pentagon’s Central Command.
The leader, Dhiya Zawba Muslih al-Hardani, and his two adult sons were killed by U.S. forces in the Aleppo region, according to a statement from Central Command.
Few information about the ground operation were given by Central Command, but military counterterrorism raids, as opposed to airstrikes, have usually employed Special Operations commandos flying in helicopters with the assistance of assault planes and drones.
Because they put troops at danger, such ground operations are riskier than drone strikes. They frequently indicate that the target is especially crucial and is probably close to civilians in an attempt to repel an air strike. Additionally, sensitive data such as computer hard drives, cellphones, and other information may be present at the raid site, which could enable counterterrorism police in organizing future raids.
Three women and three children who were present at the site of the raid were unhurt, but Central Command said in a statement that these ISIS members constituted a threat to coalition and American forces as well as the new Syrian government.
The mission did not result in any American casualties, according to a Pentagon official on Friday.
The raid occurs just weeks after President Trump tightened his support for Syria’s new government despite worries about its leaders’ previous connections to Al Qaeda by signing an executive order in late June that eased the majority of the U.S. economic sanctions on the country.
The action followed an unexpected pronouncement made by Mr. Trump during a trip to the Middle East in May and put an end to decades of U.S. policy toward Syria. Mr. Trump met with Syrian President Ahmed al-Shara during a stop in Saudi Arabia. He took office in December after his fighters overthrew longtime leader Bashar al-Assad.
Mr. Trump said Syria deserved a chance to rebuild after a horrific civil war that started in March 2011 and described Mr. al-Shara, who formerly led a rebel group that the U.S. government designated as a terrorist organization, as youthful, beautiful, and tough.
“It makes sense to publicize the raid, as the U.S. may be eager to highlight the anti-ISIS fight, in partnership with Turkey and Syria, particularly the latter, in an effort to show the lengths Damascus is going to in order to make tangible changes and accede to U.S. demands,” said Colin P. Clarke, a counterterrorism analyst at the Soufan Group, a security consulting firm based in New York, in an email.
U.S. Central Command is dedicated to the long-term defeat of ISIS terrorists that pose a threat to the area, our allies, and our homeland, according to a statement released by Gen. Michael E. Kurilla, who is in charge of U.S. military operations in the Middle East.