‘Faulty intel’: Family after US raid kills Syrian undercover agent; IS militant was target

A associated raid by the US forces and a section Syrian radical targeting an Islamic State (IS) militant alternatively resulted successful the sidesplitting of a antheral who had allegedly been moving undercover to stitchery quality connected the jihadist organisation, his household and Syrian officials told The Associated Press.Khaled al-Masoud was killed connected October 19 during the cognition successful Dumayr, a municipality eastbound of Damascus, the Syrian capital.According to his relatives, al-Masoud had spent years spying connected IS — archetypal for the insurgent forces led by Ahmed al-Sharaa and aboriginal for al-Sharaa’s interim government, which was formed successful January pursuing the ouster of then-President Bashar al-Assad successful December 2024.

Local residents told AP that the US troops carried retired the raid alongside the Syrian Free Army (SFA), a US-trained absorption faction that erstwhile fought against Assad and present operates nether the Syrian Defense Ministry.Residents callback raidAt astir 3 americium connected October 19, residents woke to the dependable of dense vehicles and planes.Al-Masoud’s cousin, Abdel Kareem Masoud, recalled opening his doorway to find Humvees bearing American flags.“There was idiosyncratic connected apical of 1 of them who spoke breached Arabic, pointed a instrumentality weapon astatine america with a greenish laser, and told america to spell backmost inside,” helium recounted.The victim's mother, Sabah al-Sheikh al-Kilani, alleged that the forces past surrounded her son’s location adjacent doorway — wherever helium was staying with his woman and 5 daughters — and banged connected the door.

According to her, al-Masoud was changeable contempt telling the troops helium worked with General Security, an Interior Ministry force. She claimed helium was taken distant portion wounded. Later, authorities information officials informed the household helium had been released but was successful a hospital. The household was subsequently called to cod his body. The nonstop clip and origin of his decease stay unclear.“How did helium die? We don’t know. I privation the radical who took him from his children to beryllium held accountable,” she said.The household believes helium was targeted connected the ground of “faulty intelligence” provided by SFA members.Al-Masoud had antecedently worked with Ahmed al-Sharaa’s insurgent group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, successful its Idlib stronghold earlier Assad’s fall, his relative said. After returning to Dumayr, helium served successful the information apparatus of al-Sharaa’s interim government.Following the operation, aboriginal media reports claimed an “IS official” had been captured.

However, the US Central Command — which routinely issues statements connected operations that termination oregon detain IS members successful Syria — made nary announcement astir the incident.Fewer than 1,000 US troops are believed to beryllium operating successful Syria, conducting airstrikes and crushed raids against IS cells. They enactment chiefly alongside the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces successful the northeast and with the SFA successful the south.