Senior ISIS Leader Captured by U.S. Forces in Syria Raid

By Mary Webber First Posted: Jun 16, 2022 04:10 AM EDT

U.S. forces caught a senior ISIS leader during a raid in Syria on Thursday. Officials said the ISIS leader is an experienced bomb maker.

According to Fox News, Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS, said in a statement that the mission was "meticulously planned" to decrease the risk of collateral damage, particularly any harm to civilians.

The coalition noted that no civilians were harmed during the operation, nor damaged any Coalition aircraft or assets.

The coalition said their forces will continue to search for the remnants of ISIS, also known as Daesh, wherever they hide to ensure their enduring defeat. Defense officials did not immediately release the captured ISIS leader's identity.

ISIS Leader Captured in Helicopter Raid in Syria

A spokesperson for a separate Turkish-backed Syrian rebel group told Reuters that the coalition forces had carried out a helicopter raid in the village of Al-Humaira just south of the Turkish border, which is the first operation of its kind in the area.

Major Youssef Hamoud, a Turkey-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) spokesman, said U.S.-made Chinook and Black Hawk helicopters were involved but did not provide details on the exact circumstances.

Hamoud noted that it was the first U.S. helicopter landing operation in areas under the SNA's control. A source close to rebels in the area said clashes erupted during the operation.

In February, U.S. special forces undertook a helicopter raid in Syria's Idlib province, which is controlled by jihadist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) that led to Islamic State leader Abu Ibrahim Al-Hashemi Al-Quraishi's death.

ISIS was militarily defeated in Syria in 2019, and since then, its leaders have gone into hiding to prevent being targeted by U.S. forces

However, ISIS fighters still have a low-level insurgency in Iraq and Syria, with the group continuing to inspire followers in the West to commit violent attacks.

ISIS launched its largest operation since its military defeat in January, with hundreds of ISIS fighters trying to free thousands of terrorist fighters detained at a prison in Hasakah in northeast Syria.

U.S. Response to ISIS Attacks

President Joe Biden said in February that the leader of the ISIS died during a raid by U.S. Special Operations commandos in Syria, with rescue workers noting that women and children were among at least 13 people killed during the operation, according to New York Times.

Biden said the "bravery of our troops" resulted in the disappearance of the terrorist leader. He added that the operation is a "testament to America's reach and capability to take out terrorist threats no matter they try to hide.

The president said all the troops from the operation had safely returned. The helicopter-borne assault was done by about two dozen American commandos, supported by helicopter gunships, armed Reaper drones, and attack jets.

American forces have supported a Kurdish-led militia in northeastern Syria as it battled for more than a week to oust Islamic State fighters from a prison they had occupied.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Pentagon Says ISIS Leader Killed During Syrian Raid - From ABC News