islamic state leader killed in syria raid by u.s
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U.S. officials and analysts said the raid may yield a rich body of intelligence to help unravel the financing, communications and personnel behind Islamic State. The assault suggests greater risk-taking mode by an administration leery of protracted ground combat in Iraq or Syria, and offers reassurances to allies who have questioned Obama’s resolve to eliminate one of the region’s most destabilizing forces.TRANSCRIPT
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5/16/2015 IslamicStateLeaderKilledinSyriaRaidbyU.S.ForcesBloombergBusiness
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/20150516/usspecialforceskilledseniorisleaderabusayyafcarter 1/4
IslamicStateLeaderKilledinSyriaRaidbyU.S.Forces
PresidentBarackObamasorderforU.S.commandostotargetanIslamicStatecommanderinSyriawaspartofanevolvingstrategytodisruptthemilitantgroup,whichhasprovenresilienttoairstrikesintendedtobreakitsgriponpartsoftheMiddleEast.
Theraidseizedonarareopportunitytoactonrealtimeintelligence.AmantheU.S.calledAbuSayyafacommonnomdeguerreintheArabworldwhowasidentifiedasaleaderofthegroupsoil,gasandfinancialoperationswaskilled,alongwithaboutadozenothermilitants,withnoU.S.casualties,administrationofficialssaid.
U.S.officialsandanalystssaidtheraidmayyieldarichbodyofintelligencetohelpunravelthefinancing,communicationsandpersonnelbehindIslamicState.TheassaultsuggestsgreaterrisktakingmodebyanadministrationleeryofprotractedgroundcombatinIraqorSyria,andoffersreassurancestoallieswhohavequestionedObamasresolvetoeliminateoneoftheregionsmostdestabilizingforces.
Itsasignificantshift,saidJuanZarate,aformerdeputynationalsecurityadviserinPresidentGeorgeW.Bushsadministration.Itrepresentsthatairstrikesarentenoughandwerefindingitnecessarytogoaftertheirleadership.Thatbeginstochangethecomplexionofthebattlespace.Weremoreactivelyinvolvedandusingbootsontheground.
byJohnWalcott,AnthonyCapaccioandDavidLerman8:38AMEDTMay16,2015
TheoperationrepresentsanothersignificantblowtoISIL",Cartersaid.Photographer:KazuhiroNogi/AFP/GettyImages
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5/16/2015 IslamicStateLeaderKilledinSyriaRaidbyU.S.ForcesBloombergBusiness
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/20150516/usspecialforceskilledseniorisleaderabusayyafcarter 2/4
OnFriday,hoursbeforetheraid,IslamicStatemilitantsseizedthecenterofRamadi,inwesternIraq.Thegroupalsoreleasedanaudiorecordingthatitsaidwasaspeechbyitsleader,AbuBakralBaghdadi,whowasreportedtohavebeenseverelyinjuredinaMarchairstrike.
BiggerPicture
AtatimewhenISISadvancesinSyriaandIraqshowjusthowresilientandagilethejihadigroupremainsandexposetheseriousflawsoftheU.S.strategyagainstit,thereisadangerinoverstatingthesignificanceofthisraidandmissingthebiggerpicture,saidEmileHokayem,aseniorfellowforMiddleEastsecurityattheInternationalInstituteforStrategicStudies,whoisbasedinBahrain.
ISIScontinuestoconveyasenseofmovementacrossIraqthatmasksitssetbacks,hesaid,usinganalternativeacronymforthegroup.
U.S.officialssaidtheraiddoesntrepresentagreatercommitmenttousinggroundforcesinthefightagainstIslamicState,whichhasprovedadeptatdodgingairstrikes.
BernadetteMeehan,aspokeswomanfortheNationalSecurityCouncil,saidinanemailthattheassaultwaspreciselythesortoflimitedgroundoperationenvisionedinObamasproposedcongressionalauthorizationfortheuseofforceagainstthegroup.
Theadministrationisstillveryworriedaboutoverextending,Zarate,nowasenioradviserattheCenterforStrategicandInternationalStudiesinWashington,saidinaphoneinterview.
GulfAllies
TheraidcomesafterObamasmeetinglastweekwithleadersofsixArabstates,calledtheGulfCooperationCouncil,whoexpressedconcernsaboutthepresidentspoliciesinSyriaandIraq.IslamicStatesetupitsselfstyledcaliphateinJune2014onareasstraddlingthetwocountries,eachrivenbycivilstrife.
AbuSayyafwasthoughttohaveconnectionswithIslamicStateleaderalBaghdadiandsomeknowledgeofthegroupsfinances,makinghimahighvaluetargetforpotentialintelligence,U.S.officialssaid.
TheoperationinaneasternSyriantowncalledalAmrwasintendedtocaptureAbuSayyaf.DefenseSecretaryAshtonCartersaidhewaskilledafterengagingU.S.forces.Hiswife,UmmSayyaf,whoissuspectedofinvolvementinIslamicStateoperations,wascapturedandisbeingdetainedbytheU.S.militaryinIraq,Meehansaid.
UnexpectedBenefits
CapturedmaterialssuchascomputersorphonesmaydetailIslamicStatesfinancingschemes,communicationsmethods,bordercrossingroutesandrecruitingpatterns,allofwhichalBaghdadiwillnowhavetoscrap,saidaU.S.intelligenceofficialwithknowledgeoftheassault.
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5/16/2015 IslamicStateLeaderKilledinSyriaRaidbyU.S.ForcesBloombergBusiness
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/20150516/usspecialforceskilledseniorisleaderabusayyafcarter 3/4
Typically,computersandphonesusedbyterroristleadersareterrificsourcesofintelligence,oftenwithunexpectedbenefits,J.M.Berger,coauthorofabookonIslamicStateandaresearcherattheBrookingsInstitution,saidinanemail.
OpportunisticTarget
ThedecisiontotargetAbuSayyafmayhavebeenbasedmoreonopportunitythanhisparticularimportance,saidPaulPillar,aformerofficerintheCentralIntelligenceAgencywhoisnowavisitingprofessoratGeorgetownUniversityinWashington.
WhileU.S.intelligenceassessmentsexpectthatAbuSayyafsdeathwillcausesignificantoperationaldamagetoIslamicState,Pillarsaidhislossislikelysomethingotherthanamajorblowagainstthegroup.
Idontthinkweactuallyknowwhothisguyisyet,otherthanthisnomdeguerreheuses,saidDouglasOllivant,aformerNationalSecurityCouncilofficialunderObamawhoisnowaresearcheratNewAmerica,apolicyresearchgroupinWashington.
WhileAbuSayyafwasafairlyseniormidlevelfinancier,Ollivantsaid,hisdeathmaynotchangetheIslamicStateorganizationinanyfundamentalway.
Justtakingoutoneguy,someoneisgoingtostepupandtakehisjob,hesaid.
DeltaForce
ThenightraidwaslaunchedfromIraqbyArmycommandoswiththeFirstSpecialForcesOperationalDetachmentDeltaaftertheU.S.obtainednewintelligenceplacingAbuSayyafinacompoundineasternSyria,anofficialbriefedontheoperationsaid.TheU.S.didntadvisetheSyriangovernmentoftheassault,Meehansaid.
TheDeltaForcecommandosflewinUH60BlackHawkhelicoptersandCV22Ospreyaircraft.Twelvemilitantswerekilledinafirefightthatinvolvedhandtohandcombat,theofficialsaid.
U.S.forceswereonthegroundinSyriaforabout20minutes,aseniordefenseofficialsaid.AYezidiwomansuspectedofbeingenslavedbyAbuandUmmSayyafwasfreedandwillbereunitedwithherfamily,Meehansaid.
TheU.S.isadoptingmoretraditionalcounterterrortacticsagainstIslamicState,suchasspecialoperationsmissionsintoitsterritory,asthegroupadaptstoamonthslongbombingcampaign,anAmericanofficialinvolvedincounterterrorismoperationssaid.
Forexample,thegrouphasstoppedmovingforcesinlargemotorizedgroupsacrossopencountryandhaslaunchedterrorattacksinRamadiandotherurbancenterswhereairpowerislesseffective,theofficialsaid.TheofficialaskednottobeidentifiedbecausedetailsoftheAbuSayyafraidareclassified.
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5/16/2015 IslamicStateLeaderKilledinSyriaRaidbyU.S.ForcesBloombergBusiness
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/20150516/usspecialforceskilledseniorisleaderabusayyafcarter 4/4
IntelligenceCoup
IntelligencecollectedintheraidmayprovemorevaluablethanAbuSayyafselimination.
Araidshortlyafterthe9/11attacksthatsoughtinformationaboutalQaedasfinancesincidentallyuncoveredthousandsofpagesofhistoricaldocumentsaboutthefoundingofalQaedathathadbeendigitizedandstoredonthetargetedcomputer,Bergersaid.
AnyinformationabouthowIslamicStatesellsoilontheblackmarketwouldalsobetremendouslyuseful,hesaid.ANovemberreportbytheUnitedNationsestimatedthatIslamicStateearnsasmuchas$1.65millionadayfromoilsales,andU.S.airstrikeshavetargetedrefineriesandotherinfrastructurecapturedbythegroup.