A senior figure of the ISIS group has been seized in a US-led coalition operation in northwest Syria, according to reports from Syrian state media and a war monitor. But confusion remains after another Syrian security source claimed the man was killed while attempting to flee.
The pre-dawn operation unfolded on Wednesday in the town of Atmeh, near the Turkish border, where coalition troops descended from helicopters. According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), US forces captured an Iraqi commander known as Abu Hafs al-Qurashi, who was taken into custody. Another Iraqi national was killed in the raid, SOHR added. The group also reported that a French-speaking woman was with the captured militant, though her fate remains unclear.
Syrian state TV, however, gave a conflicting account. Citing a security official, it reported that the man targeted was identified as Salah Noman, an Iraqi citizen who went by the alias Ali, and that he was killed in the raid while living with his family in an apartment. No immediate clarification was provided on the discrepancy in names and identities.
It is also unclear whether the figure targeted could be ISIL’s current supreme leader. Two years ago, ISIL declared that Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Qurashi had succeeded its slain leader, but Washington has not confirmed the capture or killing. The US military declined to respond to requests for comment.
The raid marks the second known US ground operation in northern Syria since longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad was ousted in December and replaced by President Ahmed al-Sharaa. The new government has pledged to combat ISIL’s remnants in alliance with the US-led coalition. In July, US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that its forces had killed senior ISIL leader Dhiya’ Zawba Muslih al-Hardani and his two sons in a raid in Syria’s Aleppo region.
Despite suffering major territorial losses, ISIL remains active. In May, the group claimed responsibility for an attack on Syrian army forces, its first strike against government troops since Assad’s fall. The militants said they detonated an explosive device against what they called a “vehicle of the apostate regime” in southern Syria.
ISIL’s recent activities have largely targeted Kurdish fighters, though its reach continues to pose a global threat. Just weeks ago, the Syrian Interior Ministry blamed the group for a deadly assault on Mar Elias Church in Damascus that killed at least 25 worshippers. Another group, Saraya Ansar al-Sunna, later claimed responsibility.
At its height, ISIL controlled vast territory across Iraq and Syria, ruling an area half the size of the United Kingdom. Its self-declared “caliphate,” with Raqqa as its capital, became infamous for massacres, public executions, and the enslavement of Yazidi women. While it was declared territorially defeated in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria in 2019, ISIL cells continue to launch deadly strikes in the region, as well as in Africa and Afghanistan.
The latest raid underscores the ongoing struggle to contain ISIL’s leadership and prevent a resurgence. But with contradictory reports emerging from Damascus and local monitors, the exact outcome of the Atmeh operation and whether ISIL’s leader was indeed captured or killed remains uncertain.
Erizia Rubyjeana
Follow us on: