U.S.: ISIS Raid Yields Crucial Intelligence on Militant Group

American intelligence organizations obtained important information about the Islamic State, one of the main groups fighting Bashar al-Assad’s regime, during raids on the group in eastern Syria, U.S. officials told the New York Times.

The information was taken from laptops, cellphones and other files obtained during the raid – carried out by Delta Force commandos – back in mid-May. The intelligence assisted U.S. forces by allowing them to “identify, locate and carry out an airstrike against another Islamic State leader in eastern Syria, on May 31.” U.S. officials believe they killed ISIS lieutenant Abu Hamid, according to the Times.

The intelligence reportedly provided the U.S. with valuable information about the group’s “structure, financial operations and security measure,” the report adds.

U.S. intelligence services learned about measures taken by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the ISIS leader, to avoid being tracked by the U.S.-led coalition in Syria. “To ensure his safety, specially entrusted drivers pick up each of the emirs and demand that they hand over their cellphones and any other electronic devices to avoid inadvertently disclosing their location through tracking by American intelligence,” unnamed officials told the Times.

Despite gaining a clearer insight into the organization’s operations, ISIS “remains extremely resilient, ruthless and capable of taking the initiative,” deputy secretary of state Antony Blinken said at a recent conference.

The news comes at a time when U.S. air raids in Syria have targeted ISIS and other armed Islamist rebels, among them al-Qaida-affiliated groups, in spots across Syria. On Sunday, U.S. aircraft targeted ISIS fighters and their allies in overnight raids as they battled rival rebel groups in northern Aleppo, the Agence France-Press reported.

Dozens of Civilians Killed by Assad Regime Airstrikes in Syrian Village

At least 49 Syrian civilians, among them children, were killed on Monday by airstrikes launched by Bashar al-Assad’s regime in the village of al-Janudiya, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based watchdog group.

Controlled by anti-regime rebel groups and situated in Idlib province in northwest Syria, al-Janudiya’s main square was pounded by regime missiles as locals were shopping in the area, the BBC reports. Six children were among the fatalities, the Observatory added.

Though the Syrian regime has yet to comment on the strikes, the Local Coordination Committees (LCC), another opposition network, also reported that the regime had targeted al-Janudiya.

The LCC reports a higher death toll, however, estimating that 60 civilians have died so far; the group says the number “is likely to rise because some of the dozens of wounded people were in a critical condition,” the BBC adds.

Many Syrians displaced from other nearby areas have sought refuge in al-Janudiya. An estimated 734 civilians were killed last month by regime strikes, including barrel-bomb attacks, in areas across the country, according to activists.

On Monday, “several people” died when the Assad regime launched airstrikes in Taftanaz, another town in Idlib province, and four were killed by barrel bombs dropped from government helicopters in Tal Rifaat, situated in nearby Aleppo province, according to the LCC.

The Nusra Front’s takeover of Idlib province’s capital in March and the nearby town of Jisr al-Shughour in April is part of a rebel military campaign aimed at reaching the coastal area of Latakia, a location often cited as a stronghold of the Assad regime due to its large population of Syrians from the Alawite sect.

Despite the Islamic State’s prevalence in media coverage, the Nusra Front, the Syrian affiliate of al-Qaida, is playing an increasingly important role in rebel successes in recent months, as Syria Deeply recently reported.

Yet, even as the regime loses ground in Idlib and elsewhere, regime forces have claimed to make significant advances against ISIS and other rebel groups in the key region of Hassakeh. Along with Hezbollah, the Lebanese political organization fighting aside Assad’s forces, the regime has also taken back swathes of the Qalamoun Mountains on Syria’s border with Lebanon, according to Lebanese media reports.

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