US Helicopter Night Raid In Syria Captures Senior Daesh Leader

The U.S. Apache and Chinook helicopters that were spotted flying over Jarablus, Northern Aleppo, Syria were reportedly a part of a night raid by U.S. Led coalition forces to capture a 'Senior Daesh [ISIS] leader'.

The Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) put out a statement saying "The detained individual was assessed to be an experienced bomb maker and facilitator who became one of the group’s top leaders in Syria".

Coalition forces said that "The mission was meticulously planned to minimize the risk of collateral damage, particularly any potential harm to civilians," and said "CTFT-OIR “will continue to hunt the remnants of Daesh wherever they hide to ensure their enduring defeat".

The media release also said that the mission "was meticulously planned to minimize the risk of collateral damage, particularly any potential harm to civilians. There were no civilians harmed during the operation nor any damage to Coalition aircraft or assets".

Based on the video footage of the spotted helicopters, there has been speculation on social media that the helicopters belonged to the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR), or 'Night Stalkers' which were flying without any lights on in the dark at a low altitude over Northwest Syria.

A senior coalition leader told The War Zone that U.S. forces were involved in both planning and carrying out the raid and that U.S. aircraft were involved in the nighttime operation. The coalition leader would not say, however, if the 160th SOAR was involved in the raid, saying that "for operational security reasons, we do not go into specifics of our missions".

The captured ISIS leader has not yet been named.
 

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