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GreekReporter.comGreek NewsMilitaryISIS Leader Killed and 4 US Soldiers Injured During Raid in Syria

ISIS Leader Killed and 4 US Soldiers Injured During Raid in Syria

Spec Ops UH60 Blackhawk
Hamza al-Homsi, a senior ISIS leader, was killed during a raid conducted by U.S. forces and the SDF in Syria. Credit: Staff Sgt. Marcus Fichtl / Public domain /Wikimedia Commons

A high-ranking ISIS leader was killed on Thursday night during a raid conducted by the U.S. military and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Four American soldiers and a working dog were wounded in the raid.

The ISIS leader was identified as Hamza al-Homsi, a senior member of the terrorist group responsible for overseeing operations in eastern Syria.

ISIS sleeper cells remain active across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) despite the loss of the so-called “Caliphate” which spread across significant parts of Syria and Iraq.

ISIS leader Hamza al-Homsi killed in raid

“Last night, during a partnered U.S. and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) helicopter raid in northeastern Syria, an explosion on target resulted in four U.S. servicemembers and one working dog wounded,” read a short press release issued by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) on Friday.

“The targeted ISIS senior leader, Hamza al-Homsi, was killed. The U.S. servicemembers and working dog are receiving treatment in a U.S. medical facility in Iraq,” CENTCOM also stated.

According to a report by CNN, U.S. officials are currently unsure whether the blast which injured the serviceman and working dog was caused by a suicide vest, a booby trap, or some other explosive device.

No members of the SDF were injured or killed during the raid. CENTCOM did not disclose exactly where in Syria the raid took place, nor did they say which U.S. military unit conducted the operation.

An official also told CNN that three of the four personnel are in the hospital in stable condition as is the working dog. The fourth operator only sustained minor injuries and has returned to active duty.

Counterterrorism in Syria

ISIS’ territorial control peaked in 2014 when it controlled significant tracts of land in both Syria and Iraq. In 2019, the terrorist group’s last territorial holdouts were captured. Nevertheless, ISIS maintains terrorist sleeper cells in both countries and affiliate groups are active in the Middle East and Africa.

The raid on Thursday night was not the first time that U.S. forces or their allies were able to inflict a major loss on the terrorist organization’s senior leadership.

Late last year, CENTCOM announced that the Free Syrian Army (FSA) had conducted a successful operation that resulted in the death of ISIS leader Abu Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi.

The caliphate’s first leader was also killed during a U.S. military operation. In October 2019, American special forces conducted a raid in Syria’s Idlib Province. During the operation, special forces located and pursued ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Al-Baghdadi fled into a tunnel and detonated a suicide vest, killing himself and three young children he had taken with him.

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