Currents News Staff
US Special Forces conducted a “successful” counterterrorism mission in northwest Syria Wednesday evening, the Pentagon said, but offered few other details. There were no US casualties.
The Syrian Civil Defense, the White Helmets, said that 13 people were killed, including 6 children, after clashes following a US Special Forces raid in the northwest village of Atmeh, in Syria’s Idlib province.
President Biden, Vice President Harris and members of the President’s national security team can be seen in a photo observing the counterterrorism operation. The mission is responsible for removing from the battlefield, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, the leader of ISIS.
One Atmeh resident, who refused to share his name for safety reasons, said that he heard multiple helicopters flying after midnight followed by the sound of explosions.
“I saw from a distance that there were machine guns shooting back from the ground towards the helicopters,” the resident said.
The resident also said he heard a loudspeaker asking people to evacuate the area. The resident said he believes the operation ended at 4:00 am local time after the helicopters and explosions stopped.