ISIS leader killed in a rare US raid in northeastern Syria
Two security sources said that an official in the "ISIS" organization was killed today, Thursday, in a rare raid by a US helicopter on a village where he was hiding, controlled by the government in northeastern Syria.
The United States has carried out previous raids in Syria against members of the "Islamic State" organization, but Thursday's operation may be the first known operation in an area controlled by President Bashar al-Assad's forces.
And the official Syrian TV said on its Telegram channel early Thursday that US special forces had carried out a rare operation on the government-controlled village of Molouk Saray in the northeastern province of Hasaka.
He added that one person was killed and others arrested, without giving details of their identities.
US Central Command spokesman Colonel Joseph Puccino told Reuters that US forces "targeted" an ISIS member in a dawn raid in northeastern Syria, but he did not confirm whether the person had been killed or arrested.
Two security sources later told Reuters that the dead man was an ISIS leader wanted by the United States.
One of the security sources said that "the airborne operation targeted a prominent leader of the "ISIS" organization who is in an area controlled by the Syrian government. The operation was successful."
The source added that the dead man was responsible for coordinating between the sleeper cells of ISIS in the area.
The source added, "This operation aims to expand the scope of the capture of members of this organization across different regions of Syria."
The second source said that the dead man was an ISIS official.
He went on to say that the US forces took his body with them during their withdrawal.
A local source stated that the man moved to the village of Molouk Saray in recent years, coming from the village of Taif, near the border with Iraq, which was once a stronghold of ISIS.
"People thought he was a shepherd, no one knows his true identity," the source added.
The local source said that US forces also raided a building used by Syrian security and arrested people there.
A spokesman for the US-led coalition fighting ISIS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Other residents in the area confirmed to Reuters that the raid took place.
One of them said that American helicopters landed in the village after midnight and asked residents through loudspeakers to stay in their homes and turn off the lights.
The resident said that the operation lasted for several hours, and there was no exchange of fire with the American forces.
A spokesman for the US-led coalition fighting Islamic State did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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