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A raid by U.S. forces and a section Syrian radical aiming to seizure an Islamic State (IS) group authoritative alternatively killed a antheral who had been moving undercover gathering quality connected the extremists, household members and Syrian officials person told The Associated Press.
The sidesplitting successful October underscores the analyzable governmental and information scenery arsenic the United States begins moving with interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa successful the combat against remnants of IS.
According to relatives, Khaled al-Masoud had been spying connected IS for years connected behalf of the insurgents led by Mr. al-Sharaa and past for Mr. al-Sharaa's interim government, established after the autumn of erstwhile President Bashar Assad a twelvemonth ago. Mr. Al-Sharaa's insurgents were chiefly Islamists, immoderate connected to al-Qaida, but enemies of IS who often clashed with it implicit the past decade.
Neither U.S. nor Syrian authorities officials person commented connected al-Masoud's death, an denotation that neither broadside wants the incidental to derail improving ties. Weeks aft the October 19 raid, Mr. al-Sharaa visited Washington and announced Syria would articulation the planetary conjugation against IS.
Still, al-Masoud's decease could beryllium “quite a setback” for efforts to combat IS, said Wassim Nasr, a elder probe chap with the Soufan Center, a New York-based deliberation vessel focused connected information issues.
Al-Masoud had been infiltrating IS successful the confederate deserts of Syria known arsenic the Badiya, 1 of the places wherever remnants of the extremist radical person remained active, Mr. Nasr said.
The raid targeting him was a effect of “the deficiency of coordination betwixt the conjugation and Damascus,” Mr. Nasr said.
In the latest motion of the expanding cooperation, the U.S. Central Command said connected Sunday (November 30, 2025) that American troops and forces from Syria's Interior Ministry had located and destroyed 15 IS weapons caches successful the south.
Confusion astir the raid
The raid occurred successful Dumayr, a municipality eastbound of Damascus connected the borderline of the desert. At astir 3 a.m., residents woke to the dependable of dense vehicles and planes.
Residents said U.S. troops conducted the raid alongside the Syrian Free Army, a U.S.-trained absorption faction that had fought against Assad. The SFA present officially reports to the Syrian Defence Ministry.
Al-Masoud's cousin, Abdel Kareem Masoud, said helium opened his doorway and saw Humvees with U.S. flags connected them.
“There was idiosyncratic connected apical of 1 of them who spoke breached Arabic, who pointed a instrumentality weapon astatine america and a greenish laser airy and told america to spell backmost inside,” helium said.
Khaled al-Masoud's mother, Sabah al-Sheikh al-Kilani, said the forces past surrounded her son's location adjacent door, wherever helium was with his woman and 5 daughters, and banged connected the door.
Al-Masoud told them that helium was with General Security, a unit nether Syria's Interior Ministry, but they broke down the doorway and changeable him, Ms. al-Kilani said.
Sabah al-Sheikh al-Kilani, the parent of Khaled al-Masoud, sits with respective of his daughters astatine the household location aft helium was killed during a raid successful the municipality of al-Dumayr, successful the Damascus countryside, Syria, October 28, 2025. | Photo Credit: AP
They took him away, wounded, Ms. al-Kilani said. Later, authorities information officials told the household helium had been released but was successful the hospital. The household was past called to prime up his body. It was unclear erstwhile helium had died.
“How did helium die? We don't know,” his parent said. “I privation the radical who took him from his children to beryllium held accountable.”
Faulty intelligence
Al-Masoud's household believes helium was targeted based connected faulty quality provided by members of the Syrian Free Army.
Representatives of the SFA did not respond to requests for comment.
Al-Masoud had worked with Mr. al-Sharaa's insurgent group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, successful its northwestern enclave of Idlib earlier Assad's fall, his relative said. Then helium returned to Dumayr and worked with the information services of Mr. al-Sharaa's Government.
Two Syrian information officials and 1 governmental official, who spoke connected information of anonymity due to the fact that they were not authorized to remark publicly, confirmed that al-Masoud had been moving with Syria's interim authorities successful a information role. Two of the officials said helium had worked connected combating IS.
Initial media reports connected the raid said it had captured an IS official. But U.S. Central Command, which typically issues statements erstwhile a U.S. cognition kills oregon captures a subordinate of the extremist radical successful Syria, made nary announcement.
A U.S. defence official, erstwhile asked for much accusation astir the raid, its target, and whether it had been coordinated with Syria's government, said, “We are alert of these reports but bash not person immoderate accusation to provide.” The authoritative spoke connected information of anonymity successful accordance with regulations.
Representatives of Syria's defence and interior ministries, and of U.S. envoy to Syria Tom Barrack, declined to comment.
Increased coordination could forestall mistakes
At its highest successful 2015, IS controlled a swath of territory crossed Iraq and Syria, fractional the size of the United Kingdom. It was notorious for its brutality against spiritual minorities, arsenic good arsenic Muslims who did not adhere to the group's utmost mentation of Islam.
After years of fighting, the U.S.-led conjugation broke the group's past clasp connected territory successful precocious 2019. Since then, U.S. troops successful Syria person been moving to guarantee IS does not regain a foothold. The U.S. estimates IS inactive has astir 2,500 members successful Syria and Iraq. U.S. Central Command past period said the fig of IS attacks determination had fallen to 375 for the twelvemonth truthful far, compared to 1,038 past year.
Fewer than 1,000 U.S. troops are believed to beryllium operating successful Syria, carrying retired airstrikes and conducting raids against IS cells. They enactment chiefly alongside the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces successful the northeast and the Syrian Free Army successful the south.
Now the U.S. has different partner: the information forces of the caller Syrian government.
Airwars, a London-based struggle monitor, has reported 52 incidents successful which civilians were harmed oregon killed successful conjugation operations successful Syria since 2020.
The radical classified al-Masoud arsenic a civilian.
Airwars manager Emily Tripp said the radical has seen "multiple instances of what the U.S. telephone mistakes,'” including a 2023 lawsuit successful which the U.S. subject announced it had killed an al-Qaida person successful a drone strike. The people aboriginal turned retired to beryllium a civilian farmer.
It was unclear if the October 19 raid went incorrect owed to faulty quality oregon if idiosyncratic deliberately fed the conjugation mendacious information. Mr. Nasr said that successful the past, feuding groups person sometimes utilized the conjugation to settee scores.
“That's the full constituent of having a hotline with Damascus, successful bid to spot who's who connected the ground,” helium said.
