A high-stakes operation by United States forces and a local Syrian group intended to capture an Islamic State official ended in a fatal mistake. Instead of detaining an IS operative, the October raid resulted in the death of a man who had been secretly gathering intelligence against IS. Family members and Syrian officials told The Associated Press that the victim, Khaled al-Masoud, had been working undercover for years. The incident has highlighted the complex political and security dynamics emerging as Washington begins coordinating with interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in the renewed fight against IS remnants.
Undercover operative killed in confusion
Relatives say al-Masoud had infiltrated IS networks on behalf of the insurgents once led by al-Sharaa and later for the interim government formed after the fall of former President Bashar Assad. Although al-Sharaa’s forces were largely Islamist and connected to groups like al-Qaida, they remained bitter rivals of IS and often clashed with it.
Neither US nor Syrian officials have publicly commented on al-Masoud’s death. The silence suggests both sides are keen to avoid any setback in their improving relationship. Weeks after the raid, al-Sharaa visited Washington and declared Syria’s decision to join the global coalition against IS.Security analyst Wassim Nasr of the Soufan Center warned that the killing could be a serious setback to counter-IS operations, given al-Masoud’s deep infiltration in the southern Syrian desert region known as the Badiya.
Night raid leads to chaos in Dumayr
The raid unfolded around 3 am in Dumayr, a town east of Damascus. Residents woke to the sound of heavy military vehicles and aircraft. According to locals, US troops conducted the operation alongside the Syrian Free Army, a US-backed opposition group that now reports to the Syrian Defense Ministry. Abdel Kareem Masoud, al-Masoud's cousin, recounted how he saw Humvees bearing US flags outside his door. "There was someone on top of one of them who spoke broken Arabic, who pointed a machine gun at us and a green laser light and told us to go back inside," he said.
Al-Masoud's mother, Sabah al-Sheikh al-Kilani, said the forces then surrounded her son's home where he lived with his wife and five daughters. She said her son informed them that he worked with General Security under the Interior Ministry. Despite this, the forces broke down the door and shot him.
He was taken away alive. Later, the family was told he had been released and taken to the hospital. Hours later, they received a call asking them to collect his body. "How did he die? We do not know. I want the people who took him from his children to be held accountable," his mother said.
Faulty intelligence suspected
Al-Masoud’' family believes misleading intelligence provided by members of the Syrian Free Army may have triggered the raid. SFA representatives did not respond to requests for comment. Three Syrian officials, speaking anonymously, confirmed that al-Masoud was working with the interim government in a security role focused on combating IS. Earlier reports said the raid had captured an IS official, but the US Central Command released no such confirmation. A US defense official said, "We are aware of these reports but do not have any information to provide."
US and Syrian forces step up coordination
Despite the controversy, coordination between the US and the new Syrian government appears to be expanding. The US Central Command recently said American troops and Syria’s Interior Ministry had located and destroyed 15 IS weapons caches in southern Syria.
At its height in 2015, IS controlled territory stretching across Syria and Iraq. Although the US-led coalition broke its hold in 2019, an estimated 2,500 IS fighters remain active. IS attacks have dropped significantly, from 1,038 last year to 375 so far this year. Fewer than 1,000 US troops operate in Syria, working with Kurdish-led forces in the northeast and the Syrian Free Army in the south. They now have a third partner: the security forces of the new Syrian government.
Conflict monitor Airwars has documented 52 incidents involving civilian casualties in coalition operations in Syria since 2020. The organisation has classified al-Masoud as a civilian. Director Emily Tripp noted multiple instances of mistaken identity in US operations, including the killing of a civilian farmer in 2023 after being misidentified as an al-Qaida leader. It remains unclear whether faulty intelligence or deliberate misinformation contributed to the October 19 raid. Nasr warned that rival groups have sometimes used coalition forces to target their opponents. He added, "That is the whole point of having a hotline with Damascus, in order to see who is who on the ground."
(With inputs from AP)
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