A Violent Week for the Syrian Experiment
This halts the momentum of Ahmed al-Sharaa's new Damascus regime, which seems to have miscalculated and failed to restrain its own forces. Israel will also need to be careful wading into Syria's sectarian conflict. It's one thing to prevent a massacre by bombing Syrian forces advancing on the Druze-majority province of Sweida, and another to make ostentatious strikes on the Syrian capital.
The conflict in Sweida picked up with communal violence between Bedouins and Druze, a non-Muslim minority. Syria's Defense and Interior ministries took that as an opening to do what Israel has warned against: Deploying troops south of Damascus to bring the Druze to heel.
After walking into an ambush by a Druze militia, Syrian forces escalated. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports that 83 people were executed by regime forces, out of 597 dead on all sides over four days. Looting and destruction were widespread, and videos circulated of soldiers humiliating Druze men and clerics.
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CNN
5 hours ago
- CNN
US military kills ISIS leader in Syria
The US military killed a senior ISIS leader in a raid in Syria on Friday, as well as two of his ISIS-affiliated sons, according to a release from US Central Command. The senior leader, Dhiya' Zawba Muslih al-Hardani, as well as his two adult sons, Abdallah Dhiya al-Hardani and Abd al-Rahman Dhiya Zawba al-Hardani, 'posed a threat to US and coalition forces, as well as the new Syrian Government,' the CENTCOM release said. Three children and three women who were on-site were unharmed. Few other details about the raid were provided. While the US has conducted anti-ISIS missions with partner forces without some regularity over recent months and years, it is less common for US forces to conduct ground raid operations instead of airstrikes. 'We will continue to relentlessly pursue ISIS terrorists wherever they operate,' CENTCOM commander Gen. Erik Kurilla said in the release. 'ISIS terrorists are not safe where they sleep, where they operate, and where they hide.' Over recent months and years, the US has continued supporting and conducting anti-ISIS missions with partner and coalition forces in Syria and Iraq. In May, the US military supported six operations — five in Iraq, one in Syria — which resulted in the death of two ISIS operatives and the detention of two others, including an ISIS leader, CENTCOM said last month. In March, the US military conducted a precision airstrike in Iraq and killed Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rifai, the terror group's chief of operations and Delegated Committee Emir, and one other ISIS operative. The US announced it was beginning a withdrawal of roughly half its forces in Syria in April, which the Pentagon said was a sign of the 'significant steps' made towards degrading ISIS capabilities in the region. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said at the time that the US military would ultimately have less than a thousand US forces in the country as a result. Friday's raid comes just weeks after the Trump administration said it was revokingthe foreign terrorist organization designation of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the group once led by Syria's interim president. It also comes after President Donald Trump signed an executive order officially ending US sanctions on Syria.
CNN
5 hours ago
- CNN
US military kills ISIS leader in Syria
The Middle East Syria conflict Federal agencies US military FacebookTweetLink The US military killed a senior ISIS leader in a raid in Syria on Friday, as well as two of his ISIS-affiliated sons, according to a release from US Central Command. The senior leader, Dhiya' Zawba Muslih al-Hardani, as well as his two adult sons, Abdallah Dhiya al-Hardani and Abd al-Rahman Dhiya Zawba al-Hardani, 'posed a threat to US and coalition forces, as well as the new Syrian Government,' the CENTCOM release said. Three children and three women who were on-site were unharmed. Few other details about the raid were provided. While the US has conducted anti-ISIS missions with partner forces without some regularity over recent months and years, it is less common for US forces to conduct ground raid operations instead of airstrikes. 'We will continue to relentlessly pursue ISIS terrorists wherever they operate,' CENTCOM commander Gen. Erik Kurilla said in the release. 'ISIS terrorists are not safe where they sleep, where they operate, and where they hide.' Over recent months and years, the US has continued supporting and conducting anti-ISIS missions with partner and coalition forces in Syria and Iraq. In May, the US military supported six operations — five in Iraq, one in Syria — which resulted in the death of two ISIS operatives and the detention of two others, including an ISIS leader, CENTCOM said last month. In March, the US military conducted a precision airstrike in Iraq and killed Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rifai, the terror group's chief of operations and Delegated Committee Emir, and one other ISIS operative. The US announced it was beginning a withdrawal of roughly half its forces in Syria in April, which the Pentagon said was a sign of the 'significant steps' made towards degrading ISIS capabilities in the region. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said at the time that the US military would ultimately have less than a thousand US forces in the country as a result. Friday's raid comes just weeks after the Trump administration said it was revokingthe foreign terrorist organization designation of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the group once led by Syria's interim president. It also comes after President Donald Trump signed an executive order officially ending US sanctions on Syria.
Fox News
7 hours ago
- Fox News
US, Israel announce targeted killings of terror leaders in Syria and Lebanon
The U.S. and Israel announced on Friday that their respective forces had killed terror leaders from ISIS and Hezbollah in separate counterterrorism operations. CENTCOM troops carried out a raid in al-Bab, Aleppo Governorate, Syria, and killed senior ISIS leader Dhiya' Zawba Muslih al-Hardani and his two adult sons, who also have ties to the terror organization, according to a statement from CENTCOM. It added that three women and three children who "were also on the target" were unharmed in the raid. "These ISIS individuals posed a threat to U.S. and Coalition Forces, as well as the new Syrian Government," CENTCOM said in a statement. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based organization, said the raid was the first of its kind. The group also stated that ground troops of SDF-backed special units and Damascus special forces participated in the operation, though Fox News Digital was unable to confirm their involvement. Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, CENTCOM commander, vowed U.S. forces would "relentlessly pursue ISIS terrorists." "ISIS terrorists are not safe where they sleep, where they operate and where they hide," Kurilla said in a statement. "Alongside our partners and allies, U.S. Central Command is committed to the enduring defeat of ISIS terrorists that threaten the region, our allies and our homeland." The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced its troops had killed Ali Mohammad Hassan Qoutan, who served as the personnel officer for Hezbollah's Bint Jbeil sector. According to the IDF, Qoutan was involved in efforts to rebuild the organization, which was dealt a blow when Israel killed its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in September 2024. "The terrorist's activities constitute a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon," the IDF wrote in a statement. Israel recently concluded a 12-day war with Iran while simultaneously fighting Hamas in Gaza in a war that has been ongoing since the brutal attacks of Oct. 7, 2023.
