US special forces conducted a midnight raid deep in Syria killing a high-ranking ISIS leader and taking others captive, it has emerged.
US Central Command Spokesman Colonel Joseph Buccino told Reuters, US forces "targeted" an Islamic State operative in a dawn raid in northeastern Syria, but did not confirm whether the individual had been killed or captured.
Syrian state television said that one person was killed and another captured by US special forces in the government-held village of Muluk Saray in the northeastern province of Hasakeh.
The operation took place on Thursday in an area of Hassakeh province, which is partly held by government forces and partly held by US-backed Kurdish fighters.
The United States has carried out previous raids in Syria to target members of the Islamic State group, but Thursday's operation would be the first known raid in a government-held area.
Two security sources confirmed to Reuters that the top ISIS leader was killed during the mission and said the US forces had taken his body with them as they retreated.
A local source said the man had moved to the village of Muluk Saray in recent years from Taif, a town near the border with Iraq that was once an Islamic State stronghold.
"People thought he was a shepherd - no one knows his true identity," said the source.
The local source said US forces also raided a building used by Syrian security and detained "several people" there.
At least two people were captured alive in the operation, including a Syrian and an Iraqi, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The US armed forces’ Central Command said it currently has “no information to provide”.
In February, another top ISIS leader, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, died in another well-planned US Special Forces raid.
The Pentagon remains at odds with the Syrian government under the control of the dictatorial President Bashar al-Assad.
In July, America said it killed Syria's top IS jihadist in a deadly drone strike in the northern part of the country.
Today, one resident said that US helicopters landed in the village after midnight and told residents by loudspeaker to stay indoors and keep their lights off.
"They used loudspeakers to call on residents to stay indoors during the operation," the local said.
The resident said the operation lasted several hours and that there was no exchange of fire with the American troops.
A spokesperson for the US-led coalition formed to fight Islamic State did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Around 50 US special forces soldiers were understood to be involved in the daring raid.
Multiple helicopters were used to carry on out deadly operation, it was stated.
