On Friday, during a raid in Syria, American military forces eliminated one of the top ISIS leaders, as well as two of his sons associated with ISIS, according to a statement from the US Central Command (CENTCOM). CNN reports this, writes UNN.
Senior leader Dia Zauba Muslih al-Hardani, along with his two adult sons — Abdullah Dia al-Hardani and Abdulrahman Dia Zauba al-Hardani — "posed a threat to US and coalition forces, as well as to the new Syrian government," CENTCOM reported. Three children and three women who were at the scene were unharmed. Details of the raid were not disclosed.
While the US regularly conducts counter-terrorism operations against ISIS with partners in recent months and years, operations involving ground raids, rather than just airstrikes, are less common.
"We will continue to relentlessly pursue ISIS terrorists wherever they operate," said CENTCOM commander General Erik Kurilla. "ISIS terrorists are not safe where they sleep, where they operate, or where they hide."
In recent months and years, the US has supported and conducted counter-terrorism operations with partners and coalition forces in Syria and Iraq. In May, the US military supported six operations — five in Iraq and one in Syria — which resulted in the deaths of two ISIS militants and the detention of two others, including an ISIS leader, it was reported last month.
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In March, the US conducted a targeted airstrike in Iraq that killed Abdullah Makki Muslih al-Rifai, the terrorist organization's operations chief and a member of the ISIS Delegated Committee, as well as another militant.
In April, the US announced the beginning of the withdrawal of about half of its forces from Syria, which, according to the Pentagon, indicates "significant progress" in reducing ISIS's ability to operate in the region. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell then stated that as a result, fewer than a thousand American troops would remain in the country.
Friday's raid came weeks after the Trump administration announced the revocation of the foreign terrorist organization status for the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, a former organization led by the interim president of Syria. It also came after President Donald Trump signed an executive order officially lifting US sanctions against Syria.