Blast wounds four US troops in Syria, IS leader killed: military

An explosion wounded four American military personnel during a raid that killed a senior Islamic State (IS) group leader in Syria, the US military's Central Command said Friday.

"Last night, during a partnered US and Syrian Democratic Forces helicopter raid in northeastern Syria, an explosion on target resulted in four US servicemembers and one working dog wounded," CENTCOM said in a statement.

BREAKING: Four U.S. service members and one working dog were wounded last night, during a partnered U.S.-SDF helicopter raid in northeastern Syria. The targeted ISIS senior leader, Hamza al-Homsi, was killed. The service members and working dog are receiving treatment in Iraq. pic.twitter.com/0C9xiRifUu

— Lara Seligman (@laraseligman) February 17, 2023

The IS leader, identified as Hamza al-Homsi, was killed, while the US troops and the dog are being treated at an American medical facility in Iraq, the statement added.

Washington leads an international coalition battling IS and conducts periodic raids and strikes targeting the group.

After the militants lost their last scraps of territory to local Kurdish-led forces backed by the coalition in 2019, IS remnants in Syria mostly retreated into desert hideouts in the country's east.

They have since used such hideouts to ambush Kurdish-led forces and Syrian government troops while continuing to mount attacks in Iraq.

In October 2019, Washington announced the death of IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi during a raid by US special forces in northwest Syria.

His two successors have also been killed: the first during a US operation in northwestern Syria, the second in an operation by former Syrian rebels in the country's south.