US kills yet another ISIS leader

The Government of the United States Friday announced the killing of Hamza al-Hosi, a senior leader of the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria, in a joint operation with Kurdish-led local democratic forces in which 4 US troops and a dog were injured by an on-target explosion, according to the US Army Central Command (CENTCOM).

The IS leader, identified as Hamza al-Homsi, was killed late Thursday during a helicopter raid. The US soldiers and the dog are being treated at a US medical facility in Iraq, it was reported.

After the jihadists lost their last scraps of territory to local Kurdish-led and coalition-backed forces in 2019, IS remnants in Syria mostly retreated to desert hideouts in the country’s east. They have since used those hideouts to ambush Kurdish-led forces and Syrian government troops while continuing to mount attacks in Iraq.

In October 2019, Washington announced the death of IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi during a raid in northwestern Syria. His two successors have also been killed: the first during a US operation in northwestern Syria and the second in an operation by former Syrian rebels in southern Syria.

In a brief statement from CENTCOM headquarters in Tampa, Fla., CENTCOM said the attack involved an “explosion on the target.”

According to CNN sources, three of the service members are in stable condition while a fourth service member sustained minor injuries and returned to duty. The working dog also was listed in stable condition.

CENTCOM also reported Wednesday that Ibrahim Al Qahtani died in a US raid on Feb. 10 in Syria.

Source: mercopress