U.S.-led coalition forces captured a senior Islamic State leader in an operation conducted Thursday in Syria, officials said.
The captured leader of the terrorist organization was not named but described in a statement from Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S.-led military mission to defeat ISIS, as an experienced bomb maker and facilitator who worked their way up the group’s ranks to become one of the top leaders of its Syrian branch.
“The mission was meticulously planned to minimize the risk of collateral damage or civilian harm. The operation was successful; no civilians were harmed neither were there injuries to coalition forces nor damage to coalition aircraft or assets,” it said.
Further details about the raid were not immediately disclosed.
The United States declared in March 2019 that ISIS in Syria had been defeated, but coalition forces have continued to hunt leaders of the organization who have gone into hiding in the Middle Eastern country.
In October of that year, ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi died during a U.S. military operation conducted in northwest Syria.
Al-Baghdadi killed himself and two children when he detonated a suicide vest as he attempted to flee U.S. forces.
With his death, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi became the terrorist organization’s global leader, but he was also killed during an early February U.S. military operation in northwest Syria.
“Coalition forces will continue to work with our partners … to hunt the remnants of Daesh wherever they hide to ensure Daesh’s enduring defeat,” Operation Inherent Resolve said, referring to ISIS by its Arabic acronym
