An early morning helicopter raid resulted in the capture of a high ranking ISIS official named “Batar” in eastern Syria. The mission follows a similar raid last week which resulted in four US soldiers and a military dog being injured.
“Batar” is described as “an ISIS Syria Province Official involved in planning attacks on Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) guarded detention centres and manufacturing improvised explosive devices” in eastern Syria, according to a statement from US Central Command.
No civilians or US soldiers were injured in the raid, according to the statement.
The raid follows a similar operation which took place on Thursday night, leading to the death of Hamza al-Homsi, a senior ISIS official.
Four US military personnel and a dog were injured during the operation when an explosion was triggered.
Officials said US forces were “close to” al-Homsi when the blast occurred, resulting in his death, according to reporting by CNN.
It is unclear whether the blast was caused by a suicide vest, booby trap or something else.
The news comes as CENTCOM released a statement on Saturday night which said two rockets landed near a Coalition base named Green Village in northeast Syria.
No Coalition forces were killed or injured as a result and no one has claimed responsibility, the statement read. US forces are investigating the incident.
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The US has had a military presence on the ground in Syria since at least 2015, when special forces troops were sent to help local forces counter ISIS.
Their role in the country is to combat ISIS while training and supplying Syrian Democratic Forces also fighting the terrorist group.
Although there has been a public drawdown of support in recent years, especially under former President Donald Trump, there is thought to be around 900 US military personnel still in the country.
Russia also has a significant military presence in the country supporting dictator Bashar Al-Assad, who has been embroiled in a popular uprising-turned civil war for more than a decade.
