US kills, captures ISIS militants in raid east of Raqqa

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – American forces carried out a raid in the Raqqa countryside on Sunday, killing a reported 25 ISIS militants and detaining others, a monitoring group reported and a coalition spokesperson confirmed. 

The conflict monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Monday that they had “received information about drop off operation by 4 helicopters,” likely belonging to the coalition and accompanied by two warplanes Sunday afternoon.

Soldiers, accompanied by Arabic speakers, were dropped off by the helicopters in the countryside near Madan, midway between Raqqa and Deir ez-Zur, the Observatory detailed. The soldiers killed a number of militants, taking their dead bodies along with live captives when they departed about an hour and a half later. 

Col. John Dorrian, spokesperson for the US-led anti-ISIS coalition, confirmed to the Washington Post that a raid took place but did not provide details. 

“The Coalition can confirm a U.S. operation in the vicinity of Deir al-Zour on Jan. 8. The U.S. and the entire counter-ISIL Coalition will continue to pursue ISIL leaders wherever they are to ensure the security and stability of the region and our homelands,” Dorrian stated in an email to the newspaper, but declined to confirm if any ISIS leaders had been captured in the raid.

ISIL is an alternate acronym for the extremist group ISIS.