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An ISIS assassination cell leader was killed in a foray that was separate from a recent helicopter raid that killed Senior ISIS leader Hamza al-Homsi in Syria, according to the U.S. military.
Officials from U.S. Central Command announced the development on Twitter, in an update about the raid on al-Homsi.
“No other ISIS fighters were killed or captured on this target, however, a separate ISIS raid that same night resulted in the death of an ISIS assassination cell leader,” CENTCOM wrote Friday on Twitter.
The tweet did not specify where the cell leader was killed, nor how that raid unfolded.
The update was posted on a thread updating the original tweet about the raid.
During the helicopter raid on al-Homsi, four U.S. servicemembers and a military working dog were wounded. The servicemembers and the dog were treated initially in Iraq, and are in stable condition, according to CENTCOM. They were slated for travel to Landstuhl in Germany for additional medical care.
The U.S. troops and the dog were hurt when al-Homsi triggered an explosion on the target near Deir ez-zor, Syria, officials wrote, adding, “Hamza al-Homsi oversaw the group’s deadly terrorist network in eastern Syria before he was killed in the raid.”
No civilians were on the target or injured in the operation, and no SDF partner forces were hurt, officials wrote.
The operation was conducted Thursday night in partnership with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), according to U.S. Centcom spokesman Col. Joe Buccino. The Americans and the dog are reported to be in stable condition, he said.
A February report from the Pentagon’s inspector general said ISIS had been “significantly degraded” by losing key leaders, and that attacks in Syria and Iraq have declined as the terror group prioritized survival.
About 900 American troops continue to operate in Syria, where they work alongside local forces.
