Updated Feb 17, 2023 - World

Senior ISIS leader killed in Syria helicopter raid, U.S. says

Shawna Chen

A masked Islamic State soldier poses holding the ISIL banner somewhere in the deserts of Iraq or Syria. Photo by: Pictures from History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

A senior ISIS leader was killed in a U.S. helicopter raid in northeastern Syria, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said Friday.

Driving the news: The raid, a partnership with the Syrian Democratic Forces, led to an explosion that killed the target, Hamza al-Homsi, and wounded four U.S. servicemembers and a working dog who are now receiving treatment, according to a statement from CENTCOM.

The big picture: Al-Homsi was one of several senior ISIS officials targeted by the U.S. over the past year.

The U.S. notably killed Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi during a military raid in February 2022 and captured a senior leader of the Islamic State militant group in Syria during a U.S.-led coalition raid in June, according to the Pentagon.
Senior ISIS leader Maher al-Agal, one of ISIS' top five in charge, was killed in a drone strike conducted by the U.S. military in July.
And in October, U.S. forces killed "an ISIS official known to facilitate the smuggling of weapons and fighters to support ISIS operations," per CENTCOM.
CENTCOM said in December that American forces and their allies killed a total of 686 ISIS suspects operating in Syria and Iraq in 2022.

Go deeper: U.S. says nearly 700 ISIS operatives killed in Syria and Iraq in 2022

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Senior ISIS leader killed in Syria helicopter raid, U.S. says

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