The US-led anti-ISIS coalition carried out a raid in northwest Syria that targeted an ISIS leader this week, according to reports on Wednesday.
“A US-led coalition captured a senior member of the Islamic State group in northwest Syria on Wednesday, state media and a war monitor reported,” the Associated Press reported. “It was not immediately clear if the man is the ISIS supreme leader.”
The raid had targeted Abu Hafs al-Qurayshi, an Iraqi citizen who was living in the town of Atmeh, near the Turkish border in Syria, the report said.
This is not the first raid of this kind. The US has been hunting down ISIS members and also members of al-Qaeda who have taken refuge in Idlib and other areas of Syria over the years.
ISIS was largely defeated in Syria in 2019, but it still has cells that operate.
After the fall of the Assad regime, there were concerns that a vacuum of power in some areas of Syria during the transition to new rule could lead to an ISIS resurgence.
The US has backed the Syrian Democratic Forces in Syria, a mostly Kurdish force, to defeat ISIS. The SDF has said it might integrate with the new Syrian government forces.
SDF leader Mazlum Abdi met with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in March and agreed to a one-year road map toward integration.
ISIS appears to be struggling to continue to fill its own leadership positions. The targeting of Qurayshi will leave it weaker than in the past. Other reports said the target of the raid in Atmeh was Saleh Noman, presumably another name for Qurayshi.
According to Clash Report, a news site considered to be closely aligned with Turkey’s viewpoint, “A top ISIS leader, Salah Noman, an Iraqi national, was killed in a coalition airdrop operation. He was hiding in a house in Atmeh village and was shot while trying to escape. Known as one of the most dangerous figures, he was key in reactivating ISIS sleeper cells.”
Fox News cited a US official as saying: “The raid was described as a ‘successful operation’ targeting a senior ISIS member assessed to be a strong candidate to assume the role of ISIS Syria emir, a position that would have posed a direct threat to US and Coalition forces as well as the new Syrian government.”
Meanwhile, independent Syrian outlet North Press Agency reported: “A senior US official said on Wednesday that American forces carried out an airstrike in northern Syria, killing a high-ranking ISIS member who had been considered a potential successor to lead the group in the country.”
The official had said the target was “a direct threat to US and Coalition forces as well as the new Syrian government... We will continue to pursue ISIS terrorists with unwavering determination throughout the region,” the report said.
There seems to be some dispute in the reports about whether the ISIS member was killed or captured.
In addition, Military.com cited an AP report that said: “Acting US ambassador Dorothy Shea made no mention of Wednesday’s arrest, but said the Trump administration has intensified counter-terrorism operations globally, including targeting ISIS and al-Qaeda’s leadership, infrastructure, and financial networks.”
US role in Syria could wrap up in coming year, role in Iraq also may be shifting
Overall, these reports indicate a laser focus by the US to try to remove ISIS threats in Syria. This is likely because the US role in Syria could wrap up or change in the coming year. In addition, the US role in Iraq may be shifting.
On July 25, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it had killed an ISIS leader.
“Early this morning in al-Bab, Aleppo Governorate, Syria, CENTCOM Forces conducted a raid resulting in the death of senior ISIS Leader, Dhiya’ Zawba Muslih al-Hardani, and his two adult ISIS-affiliated sons, Abdallah Dhiya al-Hardani and Abd al-Rahman Dhiya Zawba al-Hardani,” CENTCOM reported.
“These ISIS individuals posed a threat to US and Coalition Forces, as well as the new Syrian Government. Three women and three children were also on the target and were unharmed,” the report said, adding that then-CENTCOM commander Gen. Michael Kurilla said at the time that “we will continue to relentlessly pursue ISIS terrorists wherever they operate. ISIS terrorists are not safe where they sleep, where they operate, and where they hide. Alongside our partners and allies, CENTCOM is committed to the enduring defeat of ISIS terrorists that threaten the region, our allies, and our homeland.”
The US-led coalition received a new commander in July, just days before the July 25 strike was announced. Brig.-Gen. Kevin Lambert is now the head of Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve, the anti-ISIS mission.
The coalition changes its commander each year, so the new commander was expected. Nevertheless, Lambert may be in charge as the mission changes in Iraq and Syria.