America says it killed terror group's senior leader

oge okonkwo

May 18, 2015 10:44 AM

The officials described Sayyaf, a Tunisian, as an Islamic State commander who helped manage the group's black-market sales of oil and gas to raise funds

A senior Islamic State leader has been killed during a raid in Syria by American Special forces, US officials claim.

The operation which took place on Saturday, marked a departure from Washington's strategy of relying primarily on air strikes to target militants there.

"Delta Force commandos used UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and V-22 Osprey tilt rotor aircraft to punch deep into eastern Syria from Iraq. They engaged in a firefight and hand-to-hand combat with Islamic State fighters, killed a key figure in the group named as Abu Sayyaf and captured his wife," US officials said.

According to Christian Today, the officials described Sayyaf, a Tunisian, as an Islamic State commander who helped manage the group's black-market sales of oil and gas to raise funds.

The officials said President Barack Obama ordered the overnight operation, which killed about a dozen Islamic State fighters and had been planned for several weeks.

It marked the first known US special forces operation inside Syria apart from a failed mission last year to rescue US and other foreign hostages held by Islamic State in northeastern Syria.

Wary of the United States getting pulled deeper into Middle East conflicts, Obama has promised not to commit major ground forces in the fight against Islamic State, which has seized swathes of Syria and Iraq. But he has left open the prospect of special forces raids.

It was not immediately clear if this one marked the start of a new chapter in Syria.

oge okonkwo