U.S. troops killed a suspected senior member of the Islamic State group, or ISIS, during an Aug. 19 raid in northern Syria, defense officials have announced.
U.S. Central Command, or CENTCOM, confirmed the operation on Thursday after media outlets reported about the raid earlier in the week.
CENTCOM did not name the suspected ISIS official, who was described as “key financier who planned attacks in Syria and Iraq.”
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“He had relationships throughout the ISIS network in the region, posing a direct threat to U.S. and coalition forces and the new Syrian Government,” a CENTCOM news release says.
The first American ground troops deployed to Syria in 2015 as part of a coalition led by the U.S. military to defeat ISIS. Since then, the terrorist group has lost its last enclave in Syria, but U.S. troops and partner forces continue to battle ISIS.
In July, a U.S. operation killed a man described as a senior ISIS leader and his two adult sons in Bab, Aleppo Governorate, Syria.
“We will continue to pursue ISIS terrorists with unwavering determination, throughout the region” Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, Commander, head of CENTCOM, said in a statement on Thursday.“Together with our partners and allies, CENTCOM remains steadfast in our commitment of ensuring the lasting defeat of ISIS and the protection of the U.S. homeland.”
