A U.S. Raid in Rural Damascus Mistakenly Kills a Collaborator with the Interim Government
The Associated Press reported Friday that a raid carried out by U.S. forces in cooperation with the Syrian Interim Government, aimed at capturing an Islamic State official, resulted in the killing of a man who had been working undercover to gather intelligence on the organization on behalf of Syrian authorities.
The agency stated, citing the family of the victim, Khaled al-Masoud, and Syrian officials, that the raid, which took place in the city of al-Dumayr in rural Damascus on October 19, mistakenly targeted al-Masoud. They explained that al-Masoud had been working with Syrian intelligence to monitor the activities of the Islamic State.
On the same day, the Ministry of Interior in the Syrian Interim Government announced that the General Intelligence Service, in cooperation with the Internal Security Command in Rural Damascus Province, had carried out a raid on a site belonging to an Islamic State cell in the Ma‘damiyat al-Qalamoun area, following continuous surveillance of what it described as “terrorist elements.” The operation resulted in the arrest of one cell member, the killing of another as he attempted to detonate himself, and the death of a third from his wounds, while weapons, ammunition, and an explosive belt prepared for detonation were found.
In a related context, U.S. Central Command announced last Sunday that U.S. forces, in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior in the Syrian Interim Government, had found and destroyed 15 Islamic State weapons caches in southern Syria.
The report stated that al-Masoud’s family believes he was targeted due to faulty intelligence provided by members of the Free Syrian Army, while representatives of the Free Syrian Army have not issued any comment regarding the incident.
Abdul Karim al-Masoud, the victim’s cousin, said that Khaled al-Masoud had previously worked with Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham in Idlib before the fall of the Assad regime, then returned to al-Dumayr to work with security agencies affiliated with the Interim Government. Two Syrian security officials and a political official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that al-Masoud had been working with the Interim Government on security missions, including combating the Islamic State.
When an American defense official was asked about the details of the raid and whether it was coordinated with the Interim Government, he said: “We are aware of these reports, but we have no information to provide,” speaking on condition of anonymity.
Accounts differed regarding al-Masoud’s identity and place of work; while the family claimed he had worked with Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, other reports indicate he was linked to the organization. Khaled al-Masoud is of a Bedouin father and a mother from al-Dumayr. He was married to the sister of Ibrahim Naqrash, known as “Talai‘a,” the Islamic State emir in the city, who was killed in an earlier coalition strike.
According to media reports, al-Masoud is considered one of four prominent leaders of the organization in al-Dumayr, alongside Ibrahim Naqrash, Khaled Ghazal, and Malik Jom‘a, who left the city after a settlement agreement with Russian forces in 2017 under the protection of regime and Russian aircraft, before later being killed in clashes with the coalition in the Syrian desert.
