US Forces Raid Eastern Syria, Kill Key Islamic State Leader: Pentagon

[luoshan]

WASHINGTON: US special operations forces killed a senior Islamic State leader, who helped direct the group's oil, gas and financial operations, during a raid in eastern Syria, the Pentagon and White House said today.

The White House said President Barack Obama ordered the raid that killed the man identified as Abu Sayyaf. US officials said his wife, Umm Sayyaf, was captured in the raid and was being held in Iraq.

White House National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said in a statement that US personnel based out of Iraq conducted the operation in al-Amr in eastern Syria.

"During the course of the operation, Abu Sayyaf was killed when he engaged US forces," Meehan said.

"The president authorized this operation upon the unanimous recommendation of his national security team and as soon as we had developed sufficient intelligence and were confident the mission could be carried out successfully and consistent with the requirements for undertaking such operations," Meehan said.

Meehan said the operation was conducted "with the full consent of Iraqi authorities" and "consistent with domestic and international law".

 

[luoshan]

Islamic State crisis: US special forces in Syria raid

US special forces have killed a senior Islamic State (IS) member and captured his wife in a rare raid in eastern Syria, the Pentagon says.

Abu Sayyaf helped direct oil, gas and financial operations for IS, as well as holding a military role,the US Department of Defense statement said.

He was killed when he engaged US forces, the statement said.

The operation in al-Amr was authorised by President Barack Obama and was carried out by forces based in Iraq.

None of the US troops involved in the overnight operation were killed or injured, the White House said.

It said that Abu Sayyaf's wife, Umm Sayyaf, is suspected of being an IS member and of being complicit in the enslavement of a young Yazidi woman who was rescued in the raid.

Umm Sayyaf has been taken into military detention in Iraq.

Battles across borders
Syrian state media earlier reported that government forces had killed at least 40 IS fighters, including IS's "oil minister", in an attack on the country's largest oil field in Deir al-Zour.

Oil and gas have been an important source of revenue for IS, which took control of large swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq last year.

On Wednesday, the Iraqi government said IS's second-in-command had been killed in a US-led coalition air strike in northern Iraq - a claim that has not been confirmed by the US.

Meanwhile, Iraqi forces have been battling IS militants in the city of Ramadi, where they seized key buildings on Friday.

In Syria, government forces have been trying to drive back IS fighters from the desert World Heritage Site of Palmyra.

Also this week, IS released an audio message that it said was from its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. If verified, it would be his first such message for several months.

 

[C130]

when we going to raid Al Raqqa?? hit key areas with a dozen JDAMS and send in special forces in chinooks and ospreys.

to kill the snake you need to cut off it's head.

 

[Esc8781]

People on this forum seem to underestimate JSOC's capability.

 

[rockstar08]

Great Job US
now where is the Party ?

 

[ZooZoo]

The best way is Gurilla attack... US army paratroop, kill the terrorists and run away.

 

[xenon54 out]

when we going to raid Al Raqqa?? hit key areas with a dozen JDAMS and send in special forces in chinooks and ospreys.

to kill the snake you need to cut off it's head.

This might be a game changer but wont be very popular in US no?

 

[GBU-28]

Good news.

Dead Hezzies and ISIS is the best news for the M.E

 

[F-22Raptor]

The raid was carried out by Delta Force and apparently there was hand to hand combat. Looks like ISIS got their teeth knocked in...

 

[Azizam]

Awesome news.

Torture the captured bitch.

 

[Hindustani78]

when we going to raid Al Raqqa?? hit key areas with a dozen JDAMS and send in special forces in chinooks and ospreys.

to kill the snake you need to cut off it's head.

First thing which comes in my mind , There are no Air defenses in Syria. Yesterday 2 events took place. First Turkey shot down Syrian drone and now United States soldiers carried out attacks inside Syria and took out ISIS leader.

So where are the Syrian Air Defenses ?

Turkish officials say that the U.S. has no strategy for stabilizing Syria. One Turkish official said that the CIA has even lately halted its support for anti-Assad groups in northern Iraq. U.S. trainers are now in Turkey on a train-and-equip program aimed at adding fighters to counter the Islamic State group and bolster moderate forces in Syria, but Turkish officials are skeptical that it will amount to much.

Usama Abu Zeid, a legal adviser to the Free Syrian Army, confirmed that the new coordination between Turkey and Saudi Arabia — as well as Qatar — had facilitated the rebel advance, but said that it not yet led to a new flow of arms. He said rather that the fighters had seized large caches of arms from Syrian government facilities.

So far, Abu Zeid said, the new understanding between the militia groups and their international partners has led to quick success.

"We were able to cause a lot of damage and capture more territory from the regime," he said.

But Landis said that it is a dangerous game — especially for Turkey.

"The cautionary tale is that every power in the Middle East has tried to harness the power of Islamists to their own ends," he said, noting that Assad's government also backed Islamists in Iraq who later turned their guns on him. "It always seems to blow back."


A rebel fighter carries his weapon as he stands on a tank ahead of what the rebels said was an offensive to take control of the northwestern town of Jisr al-Shughour and the surrounding areas, which are controlled by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad April 20, 2015.

Rebel fighters stand on a tank overlooking al-Ghab plain, in the Jabal al-Akrad area in Syria's northwestern Latakia province, April 29, 2015.

 

[mike2000 is back]

But Landis said that it is a dangerous game — especially for Turkey.

"The cautionary tale is that every power in the Middle East has tried to harness the power of Islamists to their own ends," he said, noting that Assad's government also backed Islamists in Iraq who later turned their guns on him. "It always seems to blow back."

Why I'm i not surprised?

 

[Hindustani78]

Why I'm i not surprised?

Infact the whole Iraqi Baath leadership was operating from inside of Syria.

 

[mike2000 is back]

Infact the whole Iraqi Baath leadership was operating from inside of Syria.

Seems Turkey might 1 day taste the fruits of supporting 'moderate rebels' and Islamist militants like Pakistan and , Syrian government do today.

 

[Hindustani78]

Seems Turkey might 1 day taste the fruits of supporting 'moderate rebels' and Islamist militants like Pakistan and , Syrian government do today.

Turkey was working with Syrian President Assad and was trying to move Syria away from Russian Federation because of the Tartus Port. i think Russian Soldiers are still stationed at Tartus Port ?