WASHINGTON: US Special Operations forces killed a ‘commander’ of the self-styled Islamic State (IS) and at least 10 other fighters in eastern Syria early on Saturday during a raid at the group’s hideout, Defence Secretary Ash Carter said.

The US media reported that about a dozen IS fighters were killed in the gunfight at a residential building in al- Omar oil field in Deir Ezzor region. But the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based monitoring group, said coalition bombings killed 19 militants.

The raid was aimed at seizing the ‘commander’, Abu Sayyaf, but he was killed when he engaged US troops. His wife, Umme Sayyaf, was captured, said Mr Carter in a statement issued by his office.

There was hand-to-hand combat during the operation and the US personnel used helicopters to enter the hideout, media reports said.

Secretary Carter said Umme Sayyaf, a suspected member of the IS, played an important role in the group’s terrorist activities, and might have been complicit in the enslavement of a Yezidi woman rescued in the operation.

None of the US personnel was killed or injured during the operation.

“The operation… is a reminder that the United States will never waver in denying safe haven to terrorists who threaten our citizens, and those of our friends and allies,” Mr Carter said.

In a separate statement, US National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said President Obama had authorised the raid “upon the unanimous recommendation of his national security team”.

“Abu Sayyaf was a senior IS leader who, among other things, had a senior role in overseeing IS’s illicit oil and gas operations,” she said.

These operations are a key source of revenue for the group, enabling it “to carry out their brutal tactics and oppress thousands of innocent civilians”, she said. “He was also involved with the group’s military operations.”

Umme Sayyaf is currently in military detention in Iraq.

“We suspect that Umme Sayyaf is a member of IS (and) played an important role in IS’s terrorist activities,” said Ms Meehan.

She said the operation was conducted with the full consent of the Iraqi authorities and, like the US air strikes against IS in Syria, consistent with domestic and international law.

She said the US administration would treat the detainee in accordance with domestic and international laws and would allow International Red Cross to access her.

Media reports suggested that Abu Sayyaf maintained a direct contact with IS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

During the raid, US forces captured some of his communications equipment as well, which may reveal more details about his activities.

Preliminary information indicates that the US-led coalition first bombed the IS hideout and then airdropped the troops.

Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2015

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