US army says its forces captured three Islamic State members in Syria raid

CENTCOM describes militants as facilitators, a logistician and an ‘associate’ of the jihadist group, says that a civilian sustained minor injuries

By AFP 23 January 2023, 3:58 am 0 Edit

Illustrative: In this file photo taken on September 7, 2022 US soldiers walk during a joint military exercise between forces of the US-led "Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve" coalition against the Islamic State (IS) group and members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the countryside of the Syrian town of al-Malikiya. (Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP)

BEIRUT — US forces have captured three Islamic State group members during a helicopter and ground raid in eastern Syria, the US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said Sunday.

CENTCOM described the militants as facilitators, a logistician, and an “associate” of the jihadist group and said they were captured a day earlier.

A civilian sustained “minor injuries” and was taken to a medical facility, CENTCOM said in a statement.

Washington leads an international coalition battling IS in Syria.

After the jihadists lost their last scraps of territory following a military onslaught backed by the coalition in March 2019, IS remnants in Syria mostly retreated into desert hideouts in the country’s east.

They have since used such hideouts to ambush Kurdish-led forces and Syrian government troops while continuing to mount attacks in Iraq.

On Friday, CENTCOM said a drone attack hit a US-led coalition base in southern Syria, with a war monitor saying it was launched by Iran-backed groups.