U.S. forces kill senior ISIS member in Syria raid

U.S. Central Command troops killed a senior member of the Islamic State terrorist group during an Aug. 19 raid, the military said Thursday evening. The terrorist financed and planned attacks in Syria and Iraq, according to the statement from Central Command. The military operation brought him down in Atimah, in northern Syria. U.S. soldiers killed him because his relationships throughout the terrorist group’s network threatened the United States and the Syrian government, according to the statement.

Brad Cooper, the commander of U.S. Central Command, said the operation was part of the military’s mission to ensure the lasting defeat of the terrorist group. U.S. forces would continue to pursue terrorists in the region, he said.

Is the terrorist’s death a major setback for the Islamic State group? The head of the United Nations’ counter-terrorism office, Vladimir Voronkov, on Wednesday said that the terrorist organization so far maintained its operational capacity despite the deaths of leaders. It wasn’t clear from his remarks if Voronkov knew about or was referencing the U.S. operation of the day before. However, he did expect the group to recover from the March death of its deputy leader in charge of operational planning within six months.

Dig deeper: Read my previous report for more details on the threat the Islamic State group poses in several areas, particularly Africa.