CENTCOM Raid Kills ISIS Foreign Operations Chief in Syria
U.S. and Iraqi forces killed Omar Abdul Qader, the Islamic State group’s head of external operations, in a joint pre-dawn raid on Friday, according to the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM).
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the operation took place in the village of Jurayjisa in southern Hama province, an area known as a transit point for ISIS operatives.
“[Abdul Qader] was an ISIS member actively seeking to attack the United States. His death disrupts the terrorist organization’s ability to plot and carry out future attacks threatening Americans and our partners,” CENTCOM said in a statement.
No U.S. personnel were reported injured in the operation.
Iraq’s Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) confirmed that Abdul Qader was killed in an operation coordinated with the U.S.-led coalition.
CTS described him as the group’s head of international operations and external security, overseeing ISIS-linked cells abroad and managing cross-border logistics. He is also suspected of involvement in the 2013 bombing of Iran’s embassy in Beirut.
In a statement, CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to targeting threats to American and allied interests: “We will not yield in our pursuit of terrorists seeking to attack the United States, our forces, or allies and partners abroad.”
The raid follows a series of strikes in recent months targeting senior ISIS personnel, part of a strategy to dismantle the group’s covert leadership structure. Though stripped of territory since 2019, ISIS continues through hidden financial and logistical networks across Syria.
Earlier this month, Cooper and U.S. Ambassador and Special Envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack held talks with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on efforts to eliminate the Islamic State threat in Syria.
