US conducts raid in Syria, kills senior Islamic State leader
American special operations forces killed a senior Islamic State leader in a raid in Syria, US officials said on May 16.
Delta Force commandos used UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft to punch deep into eastern Syria from Iraq. They engaged in a firefight and hand-to-hand combat with Islamic State fighters, killed a key figure in the group named as Abu Sayyaf and captured his wife, US officials said.
The officials described Sayyaf, a Tunisian, as an Islamic State commander who helped manage the group's black-market sales of oil and gas to raise funds. The officials said President Barack Obama ordered the overnight operation, which killed about a dozen Islamic State fighters and had been planned for several weeks.
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It marked the first known US special forces operation inside Syria apart from a failed mission last year to rescue US and other foreign hostages held by Islamic State in northeastern Syria.
US and Arab forces have carried out almost daily air raids against hardline Islamist militant groups in Syria including Islamic State since last September, and U.S.-led forces are also targeting the group in Iraq.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter said the operation was intended to capture Abu Sayyaf but he was killed "when he engaged US forces." His wife, Umm Sayyaf, was captured, then placed in US military detention in Iraq and was being questioned about Islamic State operations and hostages held by the group.
No US forces were killed or wounded during the operation, Carter said.