US helicopter raid in Syria kills top IS member, wounds four US troops

"The targeted ISIS senior leader, Hamza al-Homsi, was killed," the Defense Department said.

A soldier attending the United States Army Air Assault School rappels from a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, US, Feb 13, 2020. (photo credit: REUTERS/BRYAN WOOLSTON)
A soldier attending the United States Army Air Assault School rappels from a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, US, Feb 13, 2020.
(photo credit: REUTERS/BRYAN WOOLSTON)

An Islamic State group leader was killed and four US troops wounded in a US helicopter raid in northeast Syria, US Central Command said on Friday.

It said a raid the previous day targeted and killed a "senior leader" named as Hamza al-Homsi who oversaw the group's network in eastern Syria.

Four US personnel and a dog working with the unit were wounded, but all were in a stable condition, US Central Command spokesman Col. Joe Buccino said.

Participants in the raid

Buccino said the raid was carried out with the Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance led by Kurdish fighters that has waged a years-long campaign against Islamic State in the north.

No SDF fighters or civilians were wounded in the raid, he said. A separate raid also killed an Islamic State assassination cell leader, Buccino added, without going into further detail.

Soldiers attending the United States Army Air Assault School prepare to rappel from a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, US, Feb 13, 2020. (credit: REUTERS/BRYAN WOOLSTON)
Soldiers attending the United States Army Air Assault School prepare to rappel from a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, US, Feb 13, 2020. (credit: REUTERS/BRYAN WOOLSTON)

Islamic State named a new top leader in December after its former chief killed himself during a raid in southern Syria.