US forces capture ISIS operative in helicopter raid

U.S. forces last week captured an Islamic State operative in a late-night raid in eastern Syria, the Pentagon announced Wednesday.  

The April 8 raid led to the capture of ISIS attack facilitator Hudayfah al Yemeni and two of his associates, a seizure that “will disrupt the organization’s ability to plot and carry out operations,” U.S. Central Command said in a statement. 

No civilians were assessed as killed or injured in the operation, according to CENTCOM. 

“Operations against ISIS are important for the security and stability of the region,” command spokesperson Col. Joe Buccino said in the statement. “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.” 

American troops last apprehended an ISIS official in a helicopter raid in eastern Syria in February. That capture was of Batar, an ISIS Syria Province official. 

That came days after four U.S. troops and a combat dog were injured in a separate helicopter raid that killed senior ISIS leader Hamza al-Homsi. 

U.S. forces are in Syria to train and support the Syrian Democratic Forces as well as conduct counterterrorism operations against ISIS and its affiliates. 

While ISIS has lost a large swath of the territory it once held in Iraq and Syria, it is still present in the two countries, using them as a base for working with related groups around the world.