United States Central Command (CENTCOM) reported Wednesday that its troops captured an Islamic State official and two of his associates on Saturday following an operation in eastern Syria.
In the strike, which was conducted by helicopter late in the afternoon and resulted in no deaths or injuries, Islamic State official Hudaifa al-Yemeni was captured, as well as two of his associates, according to a statement released by CENTCOM.
»Islamic State remains a threat to the region and beyond: the group has the capability to conduct operations in Iraq and Syria with the desire to strike in the Middle East. Its vile ideology remains a threat. Operations like this reaffirm our commitment to the lasting defeat of the Islamic State,» said CENTCOM spokesman Joe Buccino.
Earlier on Saturday, at least six Syrian civilians were killed after Islamic State planted explosives in a mine in the Al Alsujna desert in the central-western province of Homs, according to the official Syrian news agency SANA.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has previously denounced that the Islamic State takes advantage of the needs of the population to set »death traps» for them in the desert, given that truffles are one of the main sources of financing for Syrian civilians, who can sell them for about 75,000 Syrian pounds (about 27 euros) per kilogram.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
