UK Says Its Drones Killed ISIS Commander In Northeastern Syria

Cpl. John Watt, avionics specialist, 42d Attack Squadron, Royal Air Force, Creech Air Force Base, Nev., challenges a mode 4, Identify Friend or Foe (IFF) cryptic code on the MQ-9 Reaper prior to flight. USAF Photo by Lawrence Crespo Released

The United Kingdom has claimed responsibility for the October 10 strike on Syria’s northeastern region which killed a commander of ISIS.

In a brief statement released on October 13, the British Ministry of Defense said that the deadly strike was carried out by an MQ-9 Reaper combat drone.

“On Monday 10 October, a Reaper remotely piloted aircraft, armed with Hellfire missiles, tracked and, when it was safe to do so without posing a risk to civilians, successfully engaged one such terrorist who was on a motorcycle in northern Syria, near Hamman At Turkumen,” the statement read.

The British MoD didn’t provide any details on the terrorist commander who was killed in the drone strike. While some Syrian news sources identified him as “Mustafa Al-Arouda,” other sources claimed that he was called “Ammar Yahya”.

This was the second British drone strike to hit northeastern Syria in less than a year. On 25 October 2021, a similar strike on the region claimed the life of Sabahi Ibrahim al-Muslih, also known as “Abu Hamzah al- Shheell,” a cochairman of ISIS Shura Council.

Royal Air Force aircraft continue to conduct armed reconnaissance patrols against ISIS over northeastern Syria under the command of the U.S.-led coalition. British Special Forces are also still operating in the region.

Early on in the month, the U.S.-led coalition announced that it had eliminated three leaders of ISIS during two separate operations in northeastern Syria. The operations included airstrikes and a rare raid carried out in Syrian government-controlled territory.

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