Islamic State leader is killed in a US helicopter attack in Syria

 


A top leader of the extremist Islamic State organisation was killed early on Monday by an American helicopter strike in northern Syria, according to the U.S. military.

Abd-al-Hadi Mahmud al-Haji Ali, the commander of IS, was cited by the U.S. Central Command as being "responsible for planning terror attacks in the Middle East and Europe." Along with al-Haji Ali, who was the objective of the raid, two other accused IS members were also slain, according to CENTCOM. There were no injuries to civilians or American soldiers, according to the statement.

It was stated that the raid was carried out following the discovery by intelligence of an IS plot to "kidnap officials abroad as leverage for (IS) initiatives."

The White Helmets of Syria, a civil defence organisation working in opposition-held regions of northern Syria, claimed to have transferred two victims of the raid to a nearby hospital, which subsequently reported that they had passed away. According to the White Helmets, a third individual perished as American Marines landed during the attack.

The operation was launched from a base near the town of Kobani and targeted a military site belonging to a Turkish-backed armed opposition group, Suqour al-Shamal, in the village of Suwayda in the region of Jarablus, close to the Turkish border, according to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which collaborates with the U.S. in anti-IS operations in northeast Syria.

An IS senior leader was detained during the operation, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor headquartered in Britain. Three other persons were also reported dead. There was no mention of any arrests by the American soldiers.

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