A rare U.S. military ground raid in northwestern Syria has captured an ISIS leader, according to the US-led anti-ISIS coalition.
A U.S. defense official said there were no injuries to U.S. military personnel or damage to the planes involved in the attack. The ISIS leader was not immediately identified.
“Coalition forces arrested a senior Daesh leader during an operation in Syria on June 16,” Operation Inherent Resolve said in a statement. “The detainee was considered to be an experienced bomb maker and facilitator who became one of the group’s top leaders in Syria.”
U.S. Army ground incursions into northwestern Syria are risky because they are carried out west of U.S. bases in eastern Syria in areas that are controlled by extremists or the government of Syria. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
“The mission was meticulously planned to minimize the risk of collateral damage, especially any potential damage to civilians,” the OIR said. “There was no civilian damage during the operation or any damage to Coalition aircraft or property.”
U.S. Army ground operations in northwestern Syria have targeted top ISIS leaders, most notably Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who committed suicide during a raid in October 2019 in near the border with Turkey carried out by the elite Delta Force.
His successor, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, was detonated by an explosion during a similar raid in February this year.
“Coalition forces will continue to hunt down the wreckage of Daesh wherever it is hiding to ensure its lasting defeat,” Operation Inherent Resolve added. Daesh is another name used to describe ISIS.
The terrorist group was militarily defeated in Syria in 2019 and since then, its leaders have been hiding to prevent US forces from being the target.
However, ISIS fighters maintain a low-level insurgency in Iraq and Syria, and the group continues to inspire Western supporters to carry out violent attacks.
In January, ISIS mounted its largest operation since its military defeat, when hundreds of ISIS fighters tried to release thousands of detained terrorist fighters in a Hasakah prison in northeastern Syria.
After 10 days of heavy fighting, U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish forces, aided by U.S. airstrikes, were able to retake the prison, although it is believed several hundred ISIS prisoners were able to escape.
Kurdish forces claimed that 374 ISIS fighters had died during the attempted escape from prison.