According to the Syrian Democratic Forces, SDF, Kurdish special forces, with the help of the U.S. military, killed five fighters suspected of being a part of ISIS early Monday morning. The airborne operation took place in eastern Syria in the Deir Az Zor province.
US-backed SDF forces carry out deadly operation in eastern Syria https://t.co/EsLm1wb3DT pic.twitter.com/tVWRE2rnBP
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) December 13, 2021
The SDF is an alliance of Arab and Kurdish fighters backed by the United States. They control the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in northeastern Syria. According to their statement made on Monday morning, the raid happened not far from Al-Busairi.
Backed by the US-led coalition, a hideout being used by “a dangerous cell of terrorists and ISIL fighters” was targeted in the raid. The group of ISIL fighters, known for capturing large areas of Iraq and Syria in 2014, ended as a territorial unit back in 2019 during the Trump administration.
According to Monday’s statement from the SDF, gun battles followed the dropping of the coalition troops, resulting in five members of ISIS being killed, each wearing an explosive belt or pack.
It was reported earlier Monday morning by the Syrian News Agency, SANA, that American forces “kidnapped a number of civilians” during a “large airborne operation” not far from Deir Az Zor.
According to the Syrian state agency, U.S. troops had “indiscriminately fired” on homes, killing three civilian members of one family. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based war monitor, at least four people were killed. Two of the people were gunned down by a helicopter attempting to flee by motorbike.
According to the Pentagon, coalition forces led by the U.S. successfully carried out an operation with the SDF, killing four Islamic State fighters. They denied the claim of detaining anyone but did acknowledge there was a “separate unilateral operation” by the SDF. The Pentagon did not say if anyone was detained during the second operation.
Why Isn’t This Being Reported in the U.S.?
I have been trying to follow this story since I first saw it published by The Jerusalem Post on Monday morning. Since then, I have read several articles published by news and media agencies throughout the Middle East, but nothing from any American websites. Several people in the U.S. will say that obviously, this means the raid never happened. I can’t help but laugh at people who are naive enough to believe that. Maybe they’re right. I think there’s more to it than that.
The last time we heard about the U.S. killing an ISIS fighter, the Biden administration claimed they had taken out a target believed to be a top ISIS planner and organizer. However, we later learned the man driving the vehicle bombed by a U.S. drone was an Afghan aid worker. What were believed to be explosives ended up being jugs of water he was talking to people in need. If I remember correctly, along with this innocent man, a couple of children were killed in the attack.
I’m just going on speculation here, but with what happened last time, I completely understand why the Biden administration would want to know all of the facts before anything was reported about the raid here in the United States.
I don’t want to give the wrong impression here. I completely support the United States military, all of the civilians working government intel, and anyone else ridding the world of evil, one terrorist at a time. What I have trouble getting behind is a government that acts and then waits until they know all of the facts before releasing information. I felt more confident when our country had leaders that took action and then made sure everyone in the world knew exactly what they had done.
Jeffrey‘s a senior writer with ThinkCivics and a freelance journalist with The Jerusalem Post. He’s a published author, earned an associate’s degree in theology, and is pursuing a master’s degree in communications with a focus on journalism.
