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An Iraqi commander of ISIS was killed along with his Syrian guard in a joint operation by the United States-led coalition and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the eastern Syrian governorate of Deir Ezzor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on February 10.
According to the London-based monitoring group, the operation took place near the town of Abu al-Naitl in the eastern Deir Ezzor countryside.
Heavy clashes were reported in Abu al-Naitl in the early morning. Coalition helicopters, which took part in the operation, were spotted dropping flares over the town.
The U.S. Central Command is yet to comment on the counter-terrorism operation. Typically, the command announces such operations within a few days and identifies the target.
Last month, a similar joint operation took place in the town of Mashikh in the southeastern countryside of Deir Ezzor. An ISIS Syrian provincial media and security operative was captured by U.S. troops and SDF fighters in the course of the operation.
The SDF halted all operations with the U.S.-led coalition in December to protest against repeated Turkish strikes and threats of a new ground invasion of northern and eastern Syria. The pause came to an end soon after.
The U.S. maintains hundreds of troops in oil-rich areas in northern and eastern Syria. Repeated operations against ISIS provide a political cover for the deployment.
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