ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The US Central Command on Sunday said that an Islamic State (ISIS) Syria official was captured in a raid in collaboration with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the east of the country.
The statement said that the raid was carried out on Saturday and that neither civilians nor US or SDF forces were killed or injured.
US forces and the SDF “conducted a helicopter raid in eastern Syria, capturing Batar and ISIS Syria Probince Official involved in planning attacks on SDF-guarded detention centers and manufacturing improvised explosive devices.”
Kurds in Syria have been Washington’s main allies on the ground in the fight against ISIS since the group seized control of swathes of land in Syria and Iraq in 2014. The US has provided ammunition and military support to the SDF.
Syrian state media on Friday said that at least 68 people were killed in an ISIS attack in eastern Homs.
ISIS swept through vast swathes of Syrian land in 2014 but it was declared devoid of territorial control after the SDF overran its last bastion in Baghouz in 2019. Since their territorial defeat, ISIS members have attacked the SDF-guarded detention camps and organized hit and run ambushes on the coalition forces.
SDF-affiliated media said that on Thursday, an aerial raid targeted a senior ISIS member called Hamza al-Homsi in Deir ez-Zor. Homsi reportedly blew himself up in response, injuring four members of the coalition.
In a separate statement also on Sunday, CENTCOM said that two rockets landed near Green Village in Deir ez-Zor without causing casualties.
The Green Village military installation is located in Deir ez-Zor province in eastern Syria, within areas controlled by the SDF.
Such attacks are often attributed to Iran-backed militias and factions, but are rarely claimed.
By Azhi Rasul
