US special ops forces launch raid in northwest Syria

WASHINGTON (AP) — 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.”

“The mission was successful,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in a brief statement. “There were no U.S. casualties. More information will be provided as it becomes available.”

The raid was in Syria’s rebel-held northwestern province of Idlib. The Pentagon provided no details on who was the target of the raid, or if any enemies or citizens on the ground were killed or injured. Idlib is home to several top al-Qaida operatives

Residents and activists in the area described seeing a large ground assault, and U.S. forces using loudspeakers asking women and children to leave the area.

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 Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, 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 that clashes between the fighters in the area broke out with the force.

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Bassem Mroue reported from Beirut.

Lolita C. Baldor And Bassem Mroue, The Associated Press