Скачать или смотреть U.S. Raid Targeting Islamic State Leader Killed 13 Civilians in Syria

U.S. special operations forces conducted a large-scale counterterrorism raid in northwestern Syria overnight Thursday, in what the Pentagon said was a "successful mission."

Residents and activists reported multiple deaths - including civilians - from the attack.

The oppositions' Syrian Civil Defense, also known as White Helmets, said at least 13 people were killed, including six children and four women.

Several residents told The Associated Press they saw body parts scattered near the house that was raided in the village of Atmeh, in Syria's rebel-held Idlib province near the border with Turkey. They spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals following the raid, which they say involved helicopters, explosions and machine-gun fire.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said the strike killed nine people, including two children and a woman.

The Pentagon provided no details on who was the target of the raid, or if any enemies or civilians on the ground were killed or injured. Idlib is home to several top al-Qaida operatives and other militant groups.

Residents and activists in the area described witnessing a large ground assault, with U.S. forces using loudspeakers asking women and children to leave the area. They described the raid as the biggest operation since the October 2019 killing of Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

There was at least one major explosion. A U.S. official said that one of the helicopters in the raid suffered a mechanical problem and had to be blown up on the ground. The U.S. official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details of the military operation.

The Observatory said troops for the U.S.-led coalition using helicopters landed in the area and attacked a house. It said the force clashed with fighters on the ground. Taher al-Omar, an Idlib-based activist, also said he witnessed clashes between the fighters and the U.S. force.

The military operation got attention on social media, with tweets from the region describing helicopters firing around the building near Atmeh. Flight-tracking data also suggested that multiple drones were circling the city of Sarmada and the village of Salwah, just north of the raid's location.

The clandestine operation came as the Islamic State group was appearing to try to stage a comeback after its effort to establish a caliphate failed in 2019, following several years of fighting in Syria and Iraq.

In recent weeks and months, the group has launched a series of attacks in the region, including a 10-day assault late last month to seize a prison in northeastern Syria.

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