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BEIRUT - U.S. commandos mounted a rare raid into eastern Syria overnight, killing a senior Islamic State leader in a firefight, capturing his wife and rescuing a Yazidi woman held as a slave, the Pentagon said Saturday.
Defence Secretary Ash Carter announced the raid, identifying the militant as Abu Sayyaf. He said no U.S. forces were killed or injured in the operation.
The raid was the first known U.S. ground operation targeting IS militants in Syria. A U.S.-led coalition has been striking the extremists from the air for months, but the only previous time American troops set foot on the ground in Syria was in an unsuccessful commando mission to recover hostages last summer.
The Britain-based Syria Observatory for Human Rights confirmed an attack on the IS-controlled Omar oil field, Syria's largest, saying at least 19 IS members, including 12 foreigners, were killed. The group did not say who carried out the attack, but said it was informed that there was an airdrop that followed the airstrikes. The Observatory relies on a network of activists on the ground in Syria.
Syrian state TV earlier reported that Syrian government forces killed at least 40 IS fighters, including a senior commander in charge of oil fields, in an attack Saturday on the Omar field. The Syrian report, which appeared as an urgent news bar on state TV, was not repeated by the state news agency. State TV didn't repeat the urgent news or elaborate on it.
It was not immediately clear why both Syria and the U.S. would claim a similar operation. The U.S. has said it is not co-operating with President Bashar Assad's government in the battle against the Islamic State group. But it says it usually gives Damascus a heads-up on operations within its borders.
The U.S. did not provide the full name of the militant identified as Abu Sayyaf. There was no information immediately available on jihadist websites.
Defence Secretary Ash Carter announced the raid, identifying the militant as Abu Sayyaf. He said no U.S. forces were killed or injured in the operation.
The raid was the first known U.S. ground operation targeting IS militants in Syria. A U.S.-led coalition has been striking the extremists from the air for months, but the only previous time American troops set foot on the ground in Syria was in an unsuccessful commando mission to recover hostages last summer.
The Britain-based Syria Observatory for Human Rights confirmed an attack on the IS-controlled Omar oil field, Syria's largest, saying at least 19 IS members, including 12 foreigners, were killed. The group did not say who carried out the attack, but said it was informed that there was an airdrop that followed the airstrikes. The Observatory relies on a network of activists on the ground in Syria.
Syrian state TV earlier reported that Syrian government forces killed at least 40 IS fighters, including a senior commander in charge of oil fields, in an attack Saturday on the Omar field. The Syrian report, which appeared as an urgent news bar on state TV, was not repeated by the state news agency. State TV didn't repeat the urgent news or elaborate on it.
It was not immediately clear why both Syria and the U.S. would claim a similar operation. The U.S. has said it is not co-operating with President Bashar Assad's government in the battle against the Islamic State group. But it says it usually gives Damascus a heads-up on operations within its borders.
The U.S. did not provide the full name of the militant identified as Abu Sayyaf. There was no information immediately available on jihadist websites.
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