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| US Troops Kill Senior ISIS Member in Northeast Syria |
International Military - US forces killed a "senior" member of the Islamic State militant group Thursday in a pre-dawn raid in northeastern Syria. This was revealed by the US military's Central Command. The operation is the latest US effort to suppress Islamic State militants who have been defeated territorially but are still orchestrating attacks in Syria and neighboring Iraq.
"Centcom forces carried out an attack in northeast Syria targeting a senior ISIS official," Centcom spokesman Colonel Joe Buccino said in an emailed statement to AFP. Centcom later said on Twitter that the attack targeted "Rakkan Wahid al-Shammari, an ISIS official known to facilitate the smuggling of weapons and fighters". "Shammari was killed and one of his comrades was injured," the statement continued.
It added that two others were detained and the attack did not result in any further casualties. Syria's state broadcaster earlier said a US operation involving several helicopters killed one person and saw several others captured in a government-held area in northeastern Syria, which is largely dominated by Kurdish forces.
"The targeted village, Muluk Saray, is located 17km south of the Kurdish-held town of Qamishli and is controlled by pro-regime militias," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Thursday's strike was the first air operation in government-held territory since the Syrian conflict erupted in 2011, added the Britain-based war monitor.
"The people killed in the operation have been residents of the area for years," said the Observatory, which relies on an extensive network of sources inside Syria. Monitors say a Syrian and an Iraqi were captured in the operation.