One citizen said at least 12 people were eliminated in the raid that took location around midnight in a densely populated area near the border with Turkey, where 10s of thousands of displaced Syrians live in makeshift camps or overcrowded housing.There was no instant reports of any jihadist being killed, however homeowners stated they heard heavy shooting throughout the operation, showing resistance to the raid.The U.S. State Department and the spokesperson for the union forces in northern Syria did not react to demands for comment.Charles Lister, senior fellow with the Washington-based Middle East Institute, said he had actually spoken to citizens who said the operation lasted more than two hours.” Clearly they desired whoever it was alive,” Lister said. Locals and rebel sources said numerous helicopters landed near Atmeh in the province of Idlib, the last big enclave held by insurgents fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and surges were heard near the house of a foreign jihadist.The jihadist who was the suspected targeted was with his family at the time of the raid, stated a rebel official who declined to be named.One resident stated a number of individuals were killed in the raid, while another stated rescuers pulled out at least 12 bodies from the rubble of a multi-storey structure, consisting of children and women.Witnesses stated the raid had actually ended as aircraft thought to be choppers had actually left the website, however unknown reconnaissance airplanes were still hovering in the area.The rebel official said security from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the main rebel group that controls parts of northwest Syria, hurried to the location after the raid.The northwest of Syria – Idlib province and a belt of area around it – is mainly held by Hyat Tahrir al-Sham, the previous Nusra Front, which was part of al Qaeda until 2016.
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A U.S.-led coalition raid on Thursday targeted a believed al Qaeda-affiliated jihadist in the northern Syrian town of Atmeh, resulting in several civilian casualties, said citizens and sources with the rebels fighting against the Syrian government.
Issued on: 03/02/2022 – 05:27
