Four U.S. service members and a military working dog were wounded during a joint helicopter raid in Syria on Thursday night, according to U.S. Central Command.
The troops, who were conducting the raid with the Syrian Democratic Forces, were wounded by an explosion triggered by the Islamic State terror group leader who was the target, the command said Friday. They were all in stable condition and being treated in a U.S. medical facility in Iraq, it added.
The raid in northeastern Syria killed Hamza al-Homsi, whom the military said was a senior leader in the Islamic State terrorist group. The general in charge of Central Command visited Baghdad and warned that the fight against the group, known as ISIS, is ongoing despite the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq.
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“The injuries to the U.S. troops and working dog resulted from Hamza al-Homsi detonating an explosion on the target in the vicinity of Deir ez-Zor, Syria,” Col. Joe Buccino, a spokesman for Central Command, said in a statement to Military.com. “Hamza al-Homsi oversaw the group's deadly terrorist network in eastern Syria before he was killed in the raid.”
About 900 U.S. troops continue to operate in Syria, where they work alongside local allied forces to fight what remains of the group, nearly a decade after it swept through Syria and Iraq and attempted to set…
