CENTCOM: US Conducts Raid on IS Leader in Northwest Syria

Facts

• US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Monday that its forces had launched a helicopter raid in northwest Syria which resulted in the 'probable death' of a senior Islamic State (IS) leader as well as two 'armed individuals.'¹
• CENTOM said that the unnamed IS leader had been 'responsible for planning terror attacks in the Middle East and Europe.' It also reported no casualties among civilians or US military personnel.²
• The White Helmets, a civil defense group operating in opposition-held areas of northern Syria, said that two people were wounded during the raid and transported to a local hospital, with one being killed at the scene. Local officials later reported that the injured people had died.³
• Other local sources reported that US helicopters landed near the village of Al-Ghandoura outside of Jarabalus, which is located in an area controlled by Turkish-backed groups, before US forces stormed a house.⁴
• The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said that the operation targeted a military site belonging to what it described as a Turkish-backed armed opposition group near the Turkish border. The raid was reportedly launched from the SDF-held city of Kobani.³
• Earlier this month, CENTCOM said that it had killed Khalid Aydd Ahmad al-Jabouri, who it also had accused of participating in the planning of Islamic State (IS) attacks in Europe, via a drone strike. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the strike occurred in rebel-held Idlib in northwest Syria.⁵

Sources: ¹Abc news, ²Arab news, ³Dw.com, ⁴Al and ⁵BBC News.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Abc news. It's always good news when an IS leader is killed, as it mitigates the group's ability to conduct terror attacks outside of its areas of influence. The US will continue to counter IS and the threat it poses to the world at large.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Newsweek. This operation was an illegal violation of Syria's sovereignty. Though Damascus and Washington agree that IS is a terrorist organization, the US had no right to violate Syria's airspace in order to continue its policy of extrajudicial killings under the guise of counter-terrorism.