According to the paper, the clandestine program is using armed drones to kill the militant leaders, in a move that has been separated from wider American military operations against ISIS in territory held by the militants in Syria and Iraq.
The strikes are being carried out by the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), while the CIA's main role in the operation is identifying and locating senior ISIS leaders.
So far, the program has only resulted in a handful of strikes focusing on “high value targets,” officials told the Post.
The CIA and U.S. special forces are carrying out a secret campaign using armed drones to target and kill Islamic State leaders in Syria, the
Among those so far killed is Junaid Hussain, a militant hacker from Britain who the Pentagon said was recruiting ISIS sympathizers to carry out lone wolf attacks in the West.
A decision to use the Central Intelligence Agency's Counterterrorism Center (CTC) and JSOC in the operation reflects rising anxiety about the spread of ISIS fighters, the Post reported.
The CTC led the hunt for Osama bin Laden and JSOC includes the elite Navy SEAL team that carried out the mission to kill the former al-Qaeda leader in 2011.
Drone strikes are politically contentious in Washington and President Barack Obama wants the CIA to return to its core activity of spying, and away from paramilitary actions. Instead, he wants the Pentagon to take over the drone strikes.
But Senator Barbara Feinstein of California, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, has said she was not convinced the military could carry out drone strikes with the same "patience and discretion" as the CIA.
(alarabiya.net with AFP)
2/9/15
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La CIA mène une opération secrète contre l'Etat islamique en Syrie...
ReplyDeleteLa CIA et les forces spéciales américaines mènent une opération secrète en Syrie contre les djihadistes de l'Etat islamique à l'aide de drones.
Selon le journal Washington Post qui se réfère à des sources au sein des structures de l’Etat américain, l'opération en question se déroule en parallèle de la campagne de frappes aériennes anti-EI menée par la coalition antiterroriste internationale avec Washington à sa tête.
Le quotidien indique en outre que le Counterterrorism Center de la CIA et le commandement des opérations spéciales de l'Armée US ont employé des drones lors de récentes opérations visant à éliminer les chefs de guerre et les combattants clés de l'Etat islamique.
Les employés de la CIA sont chargés d'identifier et de localiser les terroristes présumés, tandis que le commandement des opérations spéciales s'occupe d'abattre les extrémistes, explique le Washington Post. Les Américains prennent pour cible les militants considérés comme ayant "une importance majeure" au sein de l'organisation terroriste.....................http://sptnkne.ws/FmX
2/9/15