Free Republic

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. 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...

US forces reportedly conducted an airstrike on a minivan in a north-western Syrian city on Tuesday, killing two targets just 10 miles away from where former ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in a raid in October. The targeted strike was said to have involved the use of a secret ‘Ninja’ missile, known as the AGM-114R9X, which substitutes the explosive warhead found on standard missiles for a set of six folding sword-like blades, designed to smash through buildings and vehicles with minimal civilian casualties. According to The Warzone, the hit was carried out in Atmeh, located in Syria’s Idlib...