--- title: "US raid kills two ISIS commanders in eastern Syria" description: "Sunday's helicopter operation is the latest attack on the terror group's leaders in Syria in recent months." date: "2022-12-11" modified: "2022-12-11" authors: - name: "Nicholas Slayton" job_title: "Contributing Editor" link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/nicholas-slayton/" url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/us-raid-eastern-syria-isis/" categories: - "News" tags: - "death" - "ISIS" --- # US raid kills two ISIS commanders in eastern Syria ![]() *Airmen with the 227th Air Support Operations Squadron, New Jersey Air National Guard, perform the night exercise portion of Fast-Rope Insertion Extraction System (FRIES) training from a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter with the 1-150th Assault Helicopter Battalion, New Jersey Army National Guard, at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., April 21, 2015. (Master Sgt. Mark C. Olsen/U.S. Air National Guard)* American forces launched an overnight raid in eastern Syria today, killing two ISIS leaders in the region. The raid, launched just before 3 a.m. local time on Sunday, had been planned heavily in advance, according to U.S. Central Command. Troops arrived and left via helicopter. One of the two targets killed was an ISIS official, identified only as “Anas,” who was involved in the group’s terror plots in the area. It’s unclear what units were involved in the raid or how many troops participated, nor how many ISIS fighters were on the scene. CENTCOM said that it appears no civilians were harmed in the raid. “ISIS continues to represent a threat to the security and stability of the region. This operation reaffirms CENTCOM’s steadfast commitment to ensuring the group’s enduring defeat,” Joe Buccino, a CENTCOM spokesperson, said in a statement. “The death of these ISIS officials will disrupt the terrorist organization’s ability to further plot and carry out destabilizing attacks in the Middle East.” [**Subscribe to Task & Purpose Today**]()**. Get the latest military news, entertainment, and gear in your inbox daily.** It’s the latest raid this year to target an ISIS commander in Syria. Special operations forces have launched multiple attacks in Syria targeting high ranking members of the terrorist organization. In October, [similar helicopter raids]() killed three ISIS commanders. At the end of November, both ISIS and CENTCOM [confirmed]() that the leader of ISIS, Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, had been killed in fighting in October. CENTCOM said he died in a battle with Free Syrian Army forces in Dar’a. His predecessor as leader, the similarly named Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, [died in February]() by detonating a suicide vest when attacked by American forces. The attack in Syria comes less than two weeks after the U.S. [briefly halted]() anti-ISIS patrols in northern Syria, following escalations between NATO ally Turkey and the Syrian Democratic Forces, which have been a U.S. partner in fighting the terrorist group. The U.S. has since [resumed]() those patrols. ## The latest on Task & Purpose - **The king is dead: Why would America want to** **retire the F-22?** - **We salute the Marine Corps vet who** [**chugged a beer from her prosthetic leg**]() **at a Lakers game** - **Combat medic** [**‘voluntold’ to attend Army Best Squad competition**]() **ends up dominating the range** - **Air Force F-35 maintainer shares what it’s like keeping ‘**[**a flying computer**]()**’ ready to fight** - [**Why modern technology hasn’t rendered**]() **trench warfare useless in Ukraine** **Want to write for Task & Purpose?**[ **Click here**]()**. Or check out the latest stories on**[ **our homepage.**]() ## Author Nicholas Slayton is a contributing editor for Task & Purpose, covering conflict for over 12 years, from the Arab Spring to the war in Ukraine. His previous reporting can be found on the non-profit Aslan Media, The Atlantic, Al Jazeera, The New Republic, The American Prospect, Architectural Digest, The Daily Beast, and the Los Angeles Downtown News. You can reach him at nicholas@taskandpurpose.com or find him on Twitter @NSlayton and Bluesky at @nslayton.bsky.social. ### Author social links [Twitter]()