US CENTCOM Captures 2 ISIS Terrorists

US Army has captured at least two Levant Islamic State of Iraq and Syria [ISIS or Daesh] operatives and one associate during a helicopter and ground raid in eastern Syria that began on Jan. 21, Pentagon’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a press release. A civilian was injured during the assault. “The injured civilian was escorted by our partner forces to a nearby medical care facility along with an accompanying family member,” said Colonel Joe Buccino, US CENTCOM spokesperson. “He received care and was released back to his family.”

“This operation reaffirms CENTCOM’s steadfast commitment to the region and the enduring defeat of ISIS,” said Buccino. “The capture will disrupt the terrorist organization’s ability to further plot and carry out attacks that threaten regional security and stability.”

ISIS facilitator, logistician nabbed

Abdallah Hamid Muslin al-Maddad AKA Abu Hamza al-Suri, an ISIS facilitator, and Husam Hamid al-Muslih al-Maddad al-Khayr, an ISIS facilitator and logistician were nabbed by the US soldiers just a month after US Army killed two members of the terrorist faction in eastern Syria in a separate helicopter raid during an overnight operation. US CENTCOM said at the time that the main target of their raid was a senior Islamic State Syria provincial official named al-Zubaydi. In December, the helicopter-borne US Army commandos killed another ISIS member ‘Anas’ in a three-hour gun battle in the eastern province. They captured six Islamic State (ISIS) operatives in three pre-dawn raids over the past 48 hours.

On Friday, CENTCOM said that a US-led coalition base in southern Syria was targetted with a drone, which the Syrian war Monitor said was launched by Iranian-linked militias that have remained active in the stronghold province of Deir al-Zour.

Iranian-linked militants aligned with the Syrian government and ally Russia have been particularly active in the eastern Syrian provinces, mainly in Bukamal, also known as Albu Kamal, located along the Euphrates River at the Iraqi border. They have been strong supporters of the Syrian government of Bashar-al-Assad backed by Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.

“ISIS represents a threat to our partners and to the people of Iraq and Syria and beyond. Our mission to defeat ISIS alongside our Syrian Democratic Forces partners continues,” the US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said Sunday.

Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorists held territory in a third of Iraq and Syria and rapidly multiplied in Libya. After they seized large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria in mid-2014, US-Syrian Democratic forces [SDF] coalition conducted several air raids to regain control of strategic areas. US Army has since captured Kobani in Syria, while Ramadi, Sinjar, Baiji, and Tikrit in Iraq were recaptured by US-backed Iraqi and Kurdish forces. SDF briefly suspended its offensive in November 2018 as the Turkish armed forces launched an offensive against the US-backed Kurdish forces’ positions.

Since 2016, the US coalition has fiercely bombarded Raqqa, the ISIS capital in Syria, and Mosul, the ISIS stronghold in Iraq.

ISIS retreated from 40 percent of its territory in Iraq and 10 percent of its territory in Syria as the US coalition carried out more than 11,000 airstrikes, snubbing ISIS’ “plotting and facilitation operations in Syria”. In November, the terrorist group’s spokesperson Abu Omar al-Muhajir said in an audio tape that ISIS leader in Syria Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi was neutralized in an operation conducted by rebel forces in the southern city of Deraa.

Source: republicworld