US forces kill two Islamic State operatives in helicopter raid in Syria

American forces kill two Islamic State operatives in eastern Syria in a helicopter raid, US Central Command says in a statement.

IS sleeper cells continue to carry out deadly attacks in Syria and Iraq. For a few years, the group ruled swaths of both countries but lost its last stronghold in 2019.

US Central Command does not specify the location of the overnight operation, and claims there were no civilian casualties in its initial assessments of the operation.

The statement describes one of the two targeted IS leaders, Anas, as an “ISIS Syria Province official” involved in plotting attacks in eastern Syria.

“ISIS continues to represent a threat to the security and stability of the region,” CENTCOM spokesman Joe Buccino says in the statement. “The death of these ISIS officials will disrupt the terrorist organization’s ability to further plot and carry out destabilizing attacks in the Middle East.”