U.S. Special Operations forces killed a senior Islamic State of Iraq and Syria commander and captured his wife during a raid President Obama ordered in eastern Syria overnight, the White House said in a statement.
The commander, Abu Sayyaf, engaged U.S. Special Forces operators, who killed him. No U.S. personnel were killed or injured in the operation.
Sayyaf had a senior role overseeing the terrorist group’s illicit oil and gas operations and was involved in the group’s military operations, according to the White House.
Sayyaf’s wife, Umm Sayyaf, is suspected to be “a member of [the Islamic State], played an important role in the [Islamic State’s] terrorist activities, and may have been complicit in what appears to have been the enslavement of a young Yezidi woman rescued last night,” Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter said in a statement on the operation.
A team of U.S. Special Forces operators freed the Yezidi woman, who appears to have been held as a slave by the couple.
The president authorized the operation based on the unanimous recommendation of his national security team, as soon as U.S. intelligence authorities had developed sufficient evidence and were confident the mission could be carried out successfully, the White House said in a statement.
The operation was conducted with the “full consent” of Iraqi authorities and consistent with domestic and international law.
“As commander-in-chief, the president is grateful to the brave U.S. personnel who carried out this complex mission as well as the Iraqi authorities for their support of the operation and for the use of their facilities, which contributed to its success,” the White House said. “The United States will continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our Iraqi partners in our effort to degrade and ultimately destroy [the Islamic State].”
Carter said the successful operation “represents another significant blow to [the Islamic State], and it is a reminder that the United States will never waver in denying safe haven to terrorists who threaten our citizens, and those of our friends and allies.”
This article was originally published at 8:56 a.m. and has been updated.
