US forces raid Syrian government-held village to target ISIS

US Forces raided on Thursday a government-held village in Syria’s northeast, killing an ISIS (Islamic State) operative hiding there on Thursday, security sources said.

The US military has frequently carried out raids in Syria against members of IS, but the airdrop raid in one of the southern villages of Qamishli was the first known operation in a zone held by forces loyal to the Syrian government.

U.S. Central Command Spokesman Col. Joseph Buccino told Reuters U.S. 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.

Two security sources said that the man who was killed was an Islamic State official wanted by the United States, according to Reuters.

"US occupation forces carried out a landing operation using several helicopters in the village of Muluk Saray and killed one person," Syria's state broadcaster said.

During the raid, confrontations were reported between the auxiliary forces of the Syrian army and US soldiers. Russia’s Sputnik news agency claimed a shepherd was also killed during the clashes, citing local sources. 

However local sources told Reuters that the man had moved to the village from 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.