US-led coalition carries out operation in Syria's Idlib
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in a brief statement that the mission was a success. “There were no U.S. casualties. More information will be provided as it becomes available.”
- Middle East
- Anadolu Agency & AP
- Published Date: 10:18 | 03 February 2022
- Modified Date: 10:27 | 03 February 2022
US forces carried out an operation early Thursday in Syria's Idlib province against an individual suspected to be affiliated with the Daesh/ISIS terrorist group with the support of an F-16 fighter jet and a helicopter.
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in a brief statement that the mission was a success. "There were no U.S. casualties. More information will be provided as it becomes available."
An airdrop was launched at 01.20 a.m. local time (2220 GMT) from the helicopter to a house near Atma village.
After soldiers ordered those inside the house to evacuate, they surrounded it at 01.50 a.m. (2250 GMT).
Several residents told The Associated Press they saw body parts scattered near the house that was raided in the village of Atmeh, in Syria's rebel-held Idlib province near the border with Turkey. They spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals following the raid, which they say involved helicopters, explosions and machine-gun fire.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said the strike killed nine people, including two children and a woman. Ahmad Rahhal, a citizen journalist who visited the site, reported seeing 12 bodies. Others were reportedly still under the rubble.
The Pentagon provided no details on who was the target of the raid, or if any enemies or civilians on the ground were killed or injured. Idlib is home to several top al-Qaida operatives and other militant groups.