On 15 May 2015,
1st SFOD-D operators from the
Joint Special Operations Command based in
Iraq
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
conducted an operation in Al-Amr, Syria to capture a senior
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signi ...
(ISIL) leader named
Abu Sayyaf
Abu Sayyaf (; , ASG), officially known by the Islamic State as the Islamic State – East Asia Province, was a Jihadist militant and piracy, pirate group that followed the Wahhabi doctrine of Sunni Islam. It was based in and around Jolo and B ...
, resulting in his death when he engaged
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
forces in combat, after his location was confirmed by surveillance from British SAS operators. Abu Sayyaf's role in ISIL was managing its gas and oil operations; he had built up a network of traders and wholesalers of ISIL-controlled oil that he helped triple energy revenues for the terror group. His other duties for the group included approving expenses to cover the upkeep of slaves, rebuilding oil facilities damaged by airstrikes and counting of revenue.
The wife of Abu Sayyaf,
Umm Sayyaf was captured and is currently held by U.S. Forces in Iraq. The operation also led to the freeing of a
Yazidi
Yazidis, also spelled Yezidis (; ), are a Kurdish-speaking endogamous religious group indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Iran. The majority of Yazidis remaining in ...
woman who was held as a slave. About a dozen ISIL fighters were also killed in the raid, two US officials said. The
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (also known as SOHR; ), founded in May 2006, is a United Kingdom-based information office whose stated aim is to document human rights abuses in Syria; since 2011 it has focused on the Syrian Civil War. ...
reported that an additional 19 ISIL fighters were killed in the US airstrikes that accompanied the raid. One official said that ISIL Forces fired at the U.S. aircraft, and there was reportedly hand-to-hand combat during the raid.
Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk
The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift military utility helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. Sikorsky submitted a design for the United States Army's Utility Tactical Transport Aircraft System (UTTAS ...
helicopters and
Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey
The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is an American multi-use, tiltrotor military transport and cargo aircraft with both vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and short takeoff and landing (STOL) capabilities. It is designed to combine the functionalit ...
tilt-rotor aircraft were used to conduct the raid.
Intelligence discovered in the raid revealed how ISIL was funding itself through the group's construction of a multinational oil operation with help from terrorist-group executives determined to maximize profits. The intelligence also showed how the organization deals with the Syrian government, handles corruption allegations among top officials and most critically, how international coalition strikes have dented but not destroyed ISIS income. Defense Secretary
Ash Carter
Ashton Baldwin Carter (September 24, 1954 – October 24, 2022) was an American government official and academic who served as the 25th United States secretary of defense from February 2015 to January 2017. He later served as director of the B ...
called the raid a "significant blow" against Islamic State and heralded the death of the terror group's No. 2 oil executive.
''CNN'' reported that the US got valuable information on the leader of ISIS,
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri (28 July 1971 – 27 October 2019), commonly known by his ''nom de guerre'' Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was an Iraqi militant leader who was the founder and first leader of the Islamic State (IS), who proclaimed hims ...
, from the wife after two days of interrogation.
The raid was also a test for a new strategy of "targeted killing" for the
Expeditionary Targeting Force.
See also
*
Foreign involvement in the Syrian Civil War
Foreign involvement in the Syrian civil war refers to political, military and operational support to parties involved in the ongoing Syrian Civil War, conflict in Syria that began in March 2011, as well as active foreign involvement. Most ...
References
{{Reflist
Military operations of the Syrian civil war in 2015
Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant