South Front
AIR FORCE HELICOPTER CREW RESCUES FEMALE HIKER – The 943rd Rescue Group had to use night vision goggles to rescue a severely injured hiker. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Kevin J. Gruenwald/Released)
On April 12, the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that its forces had captured an ISIS attack facilitator and two of his associates during a helicopter raid in Syria’s eastern region.
In a statement, the command said that the capture of the operative, identified as Hudayfah al-Yemeni, and his associates will disrupt ISIS ability to plot and carry out operations. No one was killed or wounded during the raid, which was carried out on April 8.
There were no additional details on the captured operative. However, his nom de guerre indicates that he is a Yemeni national.
“Operations against ISIS are important for the security and stability of the region,” said Colonel Joe Buccino, a CENTCOM spokesperson. “ISIS remains a threat to the region and beyond – the group retains the capability to conduct operations in Iraq and Syria with a desire to strike beyond the Middle East, and its vile ideology remains a threat. Operations such as this one reaffirms our commitment to the enduring defeat of ISIS.”
The helicopter raid took place near the village of al-Ashiteh in the southern countryside of al-Hasakah, according to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The raid is the latest in a series of U.S. operations targeting ISIS operatives in Syria. Last week, the CENTCOM carried out a drone strike that killed Khalid ‘Aydd Ahmad al-Jabouri and identified him as a senior ISIS leader who was responsible for planning attacks into Europe and developed the leadership structure for ISIS.
The U.S. maintains some 900 troops in Syria under the pretext of fighting ISIS. American troops are deployed between key oil and gas fields in the northern and eastern regions of the country, and a single garrison that blocks the strategic Damascus-Baghdad highway in the southeastern region.
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