United States-led coalition forces detained a senior leader of the Daesh terrorist group in Syria during an early-morning operation on Thursday.
The coalition conducts raids and strikes targeting members of the group, which has been waging insurgent attacks since its defeat on the battlefield three years ago.
"The detained individual was assessed to be an experienced bomb maker and facilitator who became one of the group's top leaders in Syria," said a statement by the Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve.
The statement also said no civilians were harmed during the operation and that there was no damage to coalition aircraft or assets.
"Coalition forces will continue to hunt the remnants of Daesh wherever they hide to ensure their enduring defeat," it added.
The coalition did not specify in what part of Syria Thursday's raid took place.
According to multiple local media reports, the operation, backed by helicopters, was conducted in northern Syria.
A spokesperson for the Turkey-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) opposition forces told Reuters earlier on Thursday that coalition forces had carried out a helicopter raid in the village of al-Humaira just south of the Turkish border, the first operation of its kind in the area.
Maj. Youssef Hamoud, a spokesperson for the SNA said U.S.-made Chinook and Black Hawk helicopters were involved but said the exact circumstances were unclear at the time. "This is the first (U.S.) helicopter landing operation to happen" in areas under the SNA's control, he said.
A source in touch with rebels in the area said clashes erupted during the operation.
In February, the terror group's leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi was killed in Syria by U.S. forces. He was named the leader of Daesh in 2019 after the killing of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi by U.S. special forces earlier that year.
