US launches drone campaign to hunt Daesh leaders in Syria

The CIA and US Special Operations forces have launched a campaign to hunt terrorism suspects in Syria as part of a targeted killing program that is run separately from the broader US military offensive against Daesh terrorists, The Washington Post reported Wednesday, quoting US officials.

The CIA and the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) are flying drones over Syria in a collaboration responsible for several recent strikes against Daesh operatives, the officials said.

Among those killed was a British militant thought to be an architect of the terrorist group’s effort to use social media to incite attacks in the United States, the officials said.

The program represents a significant escalation of the CIA’s involvement in the war in Syria, enlisting the agency’s Counterterrorism Center (CTC) against a militant group that many officials believe has eclipsed al-Qaeda as a threat.
Source: MENA