A senior ISIS extremist died throughout a navy operation in Syria, state-linked Sana information outlet has mentioned.
The terrorist, Abu Salem Al Iraqi, “triggered his explosive belt” and blew himself up after being surrounded and wounded, Sana reported, quoting Syrian forces.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a battle monitor, confirmed that the Iraqi militant died within the southern Deraa province.
A safety supply mentioned Al Iraqi had been the navy chief within the extremist group. Nevertheless, his actual title was not offered.
ISIS members typically function beneath pseudonyms primarily based on their nation or city of origin.
The observatory mentioned Al Iraqi had been hiding out within the space since 2018, and had taken half in killings and assaults there.
Deraa province has principally been beneath regime management since 2018 however insurgent teams nonetheless management some areas beneath a truce struck with Russia, an ally of Damascus.
There was sporadic violence within the province, together with instances the place safety forces have been ambushed. Nevertheless, the extent of combating is insignificant when in comparison with the peak of the civil struggle.
ISIS retains some affect in north-eastern Syria, a lot of which is beneath the management of the Syrian Democratic Forces, a US-backed militia made up of principally Kurdish fighters.
The militia has been on the offensive towards the terrorist group and mentioned lately that 17 ISIS “leaders and operatives” had been killed in June. The top of ISIS in Syria was killed in a raid on June 27.
Former ISIS chief Abu Ibrahim Al Hashimi Al Qurayshi was killed in Idlib province by US particular forces in February.
In north-eastern Syria, ISIS coexists with quite a lot of militant teams aligned with Al Qaeda. Nevertheless, extremist leaders are beneath fixed monitoring and surveillance by US intelligence companies.
The extremist group additionally has a presence in Syria’s far north, components of that are occupied by Turkish-backed teams.
In July, senior ISIS commander Maher Al Agal was killed in a US drone strike in Afrin, a Kurdish-majority province occupied by Turkish-backed rebels.
After a swift rise to prominence in 2014 in Iraq and Syria, throughout which it conquered huge areas of territory, the extremist group’s self-proclaimed “caliphate” collapsed beneath a wave of offensives.
ISIS was defeated in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria two years later, however sleeper cells of the extremist group nonetheless perform assaults in each nations.
Syria’s struggle, which started in 2011, has left half one million folks useless and compelled about half of the nation’s pre-war inhabitants from their properties.
Up to date: August 11, 2022, 6:05 AM
