Overview

• The operation unfolded around 2 a.m. in Atmeh near the Turkish border, with helicopters and drones providing cover, according to residents and Syrian security sources.
• Syrian state media identified the target as Iraqi national Salah Numan, known as Ali, described him as a senior IS organizer, and said he was shot dead after jumping from a balcony.
• The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that an Iraqi commander known as Abu Hafs al-Qurashi was detained and that another Iraqi was killed, underscoring conflicting accounts.
• An Iraqi security source told AFP that Iraqi intelligence guided the mission and that the target’s wives were arrested, while the coalition has issued no public statement.
• The raid is the latest in a sustained campaign against IS leadership in northwest Syria, following a July operation in Aleppo province that CENTCOM said killed senior figure Dhiya’ Zawba Muslih al-Hardani and his two adult sons.