U.S. troops in Syria detained a senior Islamic State leader earlier this week, and the military has since identified him as Hani Ahmed al Kurdi, known as Salim.
Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S. mission to defeat ISIS, said in a statement on Thursday it was able to identify and capture Kurdi, whom they described as an “experienced bomb maker and operational facilitator who became one of the top leaders in the Syria branch of ISIS.”He was"responsible for coordinating terrorist activities across the region" and has been “instructing others on making explosive devices … and facilitating attacks on U.S. and partner forces," the U.S.
The troops opted to go for a capture mission as a way to limit the potential for extraneous or unintentional killings, they said on Wednesday night, in the first public comments about the mission. "The mission to capture al-Kurdi was meticulously planned to minimize the risk of collateral damage, the successful mission avoided any harm to civilians or civilian infrastructure and resulted in no damage to Coalition aircraft or assets.”
The military launched multiple strikes into Syria late last year, targeting people they believed posed threats to the U.S. In early December, the military launched a strike against a senior al Qaeda “leader and planner" who wasn't identified, and there were reports of civilian casualties. An investigation is ongoing into the strike, though investigators' findings have not yet been made public.The military has disclosed two other strikes in Syria in recent months, including the Oct.