U.S. Special Forces Silently Hunting ISIS in Syria

U.S. troops in Syria carried out a raid on Monday against a senior ISIS leader "responsible for planning terror attacks in the Middle East and Europe," according to the U.S. military.

The "unilateral" helicopter raid led to the "probable death" of the target, with two other armed individuals killed in the course of the operation on the morning of April 17, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.

No U.S. troops were injured, nor any helicopters damaged in the operation, and no civilians were harmed, CENTCOM said.

In a separate press release, the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said international forces had fired two missiles into a building housing an ISIS commander near Jarabulus, close to the Syrian border with Turkey. The operation lead to the deaths of three ISIS operatives, including a commander, and the arrest of another commander, according to this report.

A U.S. official confirmed to Newsweek that the latter report referred to the same raid announced by CENTCOM. U.S. forces have "secured the remains for DNA verification," with more details to follow pending identification, the U.S. official said.

ISIS, also known Islamic State, is designated a terrorist group by the U.S. It seized power throughout 2013 and 2014 in Syria and Iraq, and at its most powerful, the group controlled 40 percent of Iraq and around one-third of Syrian territory, according to the Wilson Center think tank. The group became notorious for high-profile executions, including beheadings, of Western captives.

However, within just a few years, ISIS lost 95 percent of its claimed territory, the think tank said.

The dangers posed by the organization, however, ensure it remains a key priority for CENTCOM. "While ISIS' territorial caliphate is defeated, they remain a transnational threat," CENTCOM said in August 2022, adding that "their desire to regenerate" and operate overseas "threatens the U.S. homeland."

Although "degraded," ISIS is still operating in the Middle East in the hopes of striking outside the region, CENTCOM Commander General Michael "Erik" Kurilla said on Monday.

U.S. forces "will continue the relentless campaign against ISIS," Kurilla said.

An estimated 900 U.S. troops remain in Syria, working with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), although Damascus has long called for the withdrawal of the U.S. military presence.

Ridding the organization of its territorial bases in Iraq and Syria was key for stopping attacks on Westerners, according to Tom Wilson, director of policy at the U.K.-based Counter Extremism Group.

"However, even if they don't re-emerge as a serious territorial force in the Middle East, the threat of ISIS as a resurgent terrorist group, able to direct and inspire attacks remotely, has not gone away," he told Newsweek.

Western countries have largely focused their efforts on stabilizing countries and regions where ISIS "could seek to gain a footing," he said, because the group has succeeded in growing in "ungoverned and under-governed spaces that arise in conflict zones."

Islamic State and Al-Qaeda "have been strengthening their global network, working with affiliates to enhance their activities in Western countries," Wilson said.

"Islamic State is going to continue to seek to encourage others to carry out attacks on its behalf," Wilson argued. "If it does reassert itself as a force in Syria and the wider region, we should expect to see this capitalised on in the group's propaganda, bolstering its ability to inspire attacks."

Earlier this month, the Central Command said it conducted a helicopter raid in eastern Syria on April 8, capturing three ISIS targets, including an "attack facilitator" named as Hudayfah al Yemeni. On April 4, it said that U.S. forces had "conducted a unilateral strike" in Syria, killing "ISIS senior leader" Khalid 'Aydd Ahmad al-Jabouri.

In February, four U.S. personnel were wounded during a joint U.S. and SDF helicopter raid in northeastern Syria. Hamza al-Homsi, the ISIS senior leader described as the target, was killed, CENTCOM said at the time.

ISIS forces are continuing to operate in Syria in the hopes of destabilizing the U.S.-backed SDF, the Institute for the Study of War think tank said earlier this month. Militant forces are engaged in a "long-term strategic approach to re-establish a territorial 'caliphate,'" the think tank said.