US kills two Daesh leaders in an airstrike

Washington Army special troops in an area controlled by the Syrian government shot down two Daesh leaders at 18:23 local time. Following Thursday's raid operation that killed Syrian arms dealer Rakan Wahid Al-Shammri, the deaths of two of the terrorist organisation's leaders were confirmed in an airstrike, according to reports from two US officials.

According to the US Middle East Command (CENTCOM), the second strike against Daesh was carried out in the north of the country, a region controlled by the government, and killed two senior members of the jihadist organisation, including a leader identified as Abu-Hashum al-Umawi, a Syrian wali deputy and a Daesh official associated with the leader.

It should be noted that the area is controlled by the Syrian government, and this is the first time that a US mission related to the attempt to disband Daesh has taken place in these circumstances since they began in 2011. They added that, "no US forces were injured or killed and there was no loss or damage to equipment in the execution of the operation". The comprehensive review of the mission paid off as there were no collateral injuries according to CENTCOM's first assessment of the mission.

Such conditions have not gone unnoticed as several neighbours and fellow villagers reported seeing several helicopters landing in the area, according to Deutsche Welle. One villager said that three US helicopters with soldiers on board landed at night. US forces raided a house where they killed one person and took others into custody, the resident said on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. He also noted that the rest of the villagers were warned to stay indoors using megaphones, which is a bit odd for such a major operation, especially when US Central Command Forces say they spent more than 1,000 hours studying how to execute the mission.  

In Syria, state television reported that "US occupation forces conducted a landing operation with several helicopters" in Hassaka province (northeast) "and killed one person". The village of Muluk Saray, the target of the operation, is located 17km south of the town of Qamishli and is under the control of Syrian forces, according to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH). On the Telegram channel, state television said the US had reportedly abducted more people in the operation.

In February, the US launched an invasion of northwestern Syria that killed ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi after he blew himself up. It was the largest US invasion of Syria since the 2019 operation that killed former Daesh leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Qurayshi was named leader of the terrorist group in November 2019, at the same time Daesh confirmed Baghdadi had been killed. His whereabouts were known to the US months before the raid, officials said. Hiding with his family on the third floor of the building, he directed the terror group's operations through a network of corridors. Since March, the leader of the terrorist organisation has been Abu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, the group announced, but it is believed to be an assumed name.

Several months after the Qurayshi raid, the US-led Joint Task Force to Combat ISIS arrested another jihadist leader in Syria, Hani Ahmed al-Kurdi, known as Salim. And in July, the US conducted a drone strike in northwestern Syria that killed Maher al-Agal, the leader of Daesh in Syria.

Since the defeat of Daesh's self-proclaimed caliphate in 2019, the group has consistently attempted to regroup to challenge the US-led coalition to defeat Daesh. Those efforts included numerous attempts to attack the Al-Hol camp in Syria, home to some 60,000 people. The displacement camp is seen as a recruiting ground. Last month, Daesh fighters attempted to attack the camp by surrounding two vehicles with explosives, according to US Central Command. One car exploded prematurely and the other was intercepted by US-linked Syrian Democratic Forces.

With the execution of these missions, Washington is completing its defeat of Islamic terrorism. Since losing territorial power in 2019, the Navy Seals have carried out several attacks against Daesh in Syria and Iraq.

America Coordinator: José Antonio Sierra.