Syria: US-led forces capture Islamic State member

US-led coalition forces captured a member of the Islamic State group (ISIS) during an operation in northwest Syria, according to Asharq Al-Awsat via the Associated Press on August 20th.

It is unclear at this stage if the man is the ISIS supreme leader.

Before dawn on August 20th, troops landed from helicopters in Atmeh town near the Turkey border, capturing the IS commander known as Abu Hafs al-Qurayshi, while an Iraqi citizen was killed. 

This comes as US-backed forces conducted a previous raid on another senior leader in ISIS in northwest Syria on July 25th. The leader, Dhiya Zawba Muslih al-Hardan, was killed along with his two adult sons, who were also tied to the group. 

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights stated that a French-speaking woman accompanied the man captured. It is not yet known if she was taken into custody by a U.S. force or by Syrian security forces, who later cordoned off the site.

ISIS declared Iraqi national Abu Hafs al-Hashemi al-Qurayshi as its new leader in 2023, following the killing of his predecessor by Turkish authorities.

Meanwhile, Syrian state TV cited an unnamed security official who claimed that the Iraqi man targeted in the raid was identified as Ali, whose real name is Salah Norman. The official said that Norman, who was living in an apartment with his wife, son and mother, was killed in the operation. 

No immediate explanation was given for the discrepancy between the names reported by state media and the war monitor. 

ISIS had split from Al-Qaeda over ten years ago and drew global supporters after proclaiming a so-called caliphate in 2014 across swathes of Syria and Iraq. Although it was defeated in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria in 2019, IS militants continue to stage lethal attacks in both nations and worldwide. 

Both the US and its regional partners have been ramping up their engagement with ISIS. Political leaders in the region are concerned about whether the fall of the Assad regime in Syria back in December 2024 is helping to revive ISIS. Both Turkey and Lebanon have seen anti-terrorist raids on a large number of suspects tied to the terrorist group. Africa, particularly the Sahel, has seen an unprecedented growth in activity by the group and its affiliates, with the region being called the “global epicentre of the Islamic state” by the Geopolitical Monitor. 

Asharq Al-Awsat via the Associated Press, Maghrebi.org