US forces carried out a pre-dawn raid in Syria’s Idlib province, killing senior Islamic State leader Salah Numan, also known as Ali. According to Syrian security officials, Numan was an Iraqi national described as “one of the most dangerous men wanted” for mobilising ISIS sleeper cells across Syria. The operation began around 2 a.m., with helicopters and drones providing air cover while US troops conducted the ground assault. Local residents reported troops surrounding homes for hours. This marks the second US raid in northern Syria since Bashar al-Assad’s ouster in December. Despite losing its territory by 2019, ISIS remains active and has claimed several deadly attacks this year, including a church massacre in Damascus that killed 25 people.
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00:00And now to Syria, where U.S. forces carried out a pre-dawn raid targeting a member of the Islamic State, or ISIS.
00:07The mission took place in Idlib province and marks the latest American operation against remnants of the extremist network.
00:13Now, according to U.S. officials and Syrian security forces, the raid began around 2 a.m. local time in the town of Atme in northwestern Syria.
00:22U.S. helicopters and drones provided air cover while ground troops executed the actual assault.
00:27It started last night after 2 a.m. We were asleep on the balcony. We went inside. We couldn't sleep.
00:37There was a shooting and loud noises. We didn't know what was happening, and it was dark. I couldn't see anything from the balcony.
00:49Syrian forces cordoned off the neighborhood, but American soldiers let the raid.
00:55Now, according to reports, the target tried to escape but was killed.
00:58The man was reportedly an Iraqi national married to a French woman.
01:02Now, what happened to his wife remains unclear.
01:05Syrian state media later identified him as someone named Ali, one of the most dangerous men wanted for mobilizing ISIS sleeper cells in Syria.
01:14The Pentagon has not yet issued a formal statement, but a U.S. official reportedly confirmed the raid was aimed at a suspected high-value ISIS member.
01:23One resident also said that U.S. armed forces remained on rooftops of nearby homes for nearly two hours.
01:30He also heard someone speaking Arabic with what he described as an Iraqi accent.
01:35They went up to our neighbor's roof here and our neighbor's roof there.
01:41Of course, those who came to me here, they all speak English.
01:45They didn't speak anything else, just English.
01:47But on the roof of Assad's house there, the man was speaking, and his accent was apparently Iraqi.
01:52Now, ISIS, also known as ISIL, once controlled territory half the size of the United Kingdom, stretching across Iraq and Syria with Raqqa as its capital.
02:07The group became infamous for mass killings, the enslavement of Yazidi women, and the beheading of foreign hostages.
02:13Though it lost its territory and governance structure by 2019, its fighters, however, remain active in the region and abroad.
02:21It's the second known U.S. raid in northern Syria since longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad was ousted last December.
02:28And the new government, led by President Ahmed al-Shara, has pledged to prevent any resurgence of ISIS and is cooperating with the U.S.-led coalition.
02:37Wednesday's raid is not an isolated incident, however.
02:40In fact, in July, the Pentagon said its forces killed a senior ISIS leader along with two of his adult sons during a raid in the Aleppo province.
02:50It lived province where this latest raid occurred, has long been a hiding spot for senior ISIS leaders.
02:56In fact, U.S. special forces killed two members there, one in 2022 and another in 2019.
03:04ISIS continues to carry out deadly attacks.
03:06In fact, this year in May, the group ambushed Syrian government forces.
03:10And in June, a gunman stormed a church in Tabascus, killing at least 25 people before detonating a suicide bomb.
03:17The Interior Ministry blamed ISIS for the massacre.
03:21Analysts say that while ISIS no longer holds territory, it remains a threat.
03:26Its networks continue to launch sporadic but deadly operations across Syria, Iraq, Africa, and Afghanistan.
03:33So while ISIS has lost its so-called caliphate years ago, latest U.S. raid in Idlib is a reminder that the group's leaders are still being hunted
03:44and its fighters remain a danger in Syria and beyond.
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