The Pentagon has announced that on Thursday US special forces conducted a raid that resulted in the killing of a senior ISIS leader, identified as Hamza al-Homsi.
But crucially and in a rare instance for such operations in the country, four American troops were wounded, along with a working dog, a military statement indicated.
An official statement from Tampa-based US Central Command (CENTCOM) described that “Last night, during a partnered U.S. and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) helicopter raid in northeastern Syria, an explosion on target resulted in four U.S. servicemembers and one working dog wounded.”
“The targeted ISIS senior leader, Hamza al-Homsi, was killed,” it confirmed. “The U.S. servicemembers and working dog are receiving treatment in a U.S. medical facility in Iraq.”
Separately CENTCOM announced in a tweet that a prior Feb.10 raid had killed “Ibrahim Al Qahtani, an ISIS official associated with planning ISIS detention center attacks.”
That raid had further “resulted in the seizure of multiple weapons, ammo, and a suicide belt,” according to the tweet.
The United States has sought to justify its continued occupation of northeast Syria, including valuable oil and gas fields, as part of a ‘counter-ISIS’ mission, and conducts these raids from time to time. However, Damascus and Moscow have charged that the US presence is all about stealing Syrian energy, blocking resources from the population.
ISIS official involved in planning prison breaks killed by US and coalition forces in Syria, CENTCOM says https://t.co/gwsdzm7b4O
— Fox News (@FoxNews) February 16, 2023
While little is known about Hamza al-Homsi, the other terrorist killed, Qahtani, is believed to have been behind several prison breaks freeing ISIS and other jihadist fighters. “So far, we have prevented ISIS from freeing these fighters. But there are a range of detention facilities in northeast Syria, and we know they will try to attack them again,” Ian Moss, the Deputy Coordinator for Countering Violent Extremism and Terrorist Detentions, has previously said.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 02/17/2023 – 17:20
