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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| CIA escalates role in battle against terrorists in Syria |
| 2015-09-03 |
| [NZHERALD.CO.NZ] The CIA and US special operations forces have launched a secret campaign to hunt terrorism suspects in Syria as part of a targeted killing programme that is run separately from the broader US military offensive against Isis (Islamic State). The CIA and the Joint Special Operations Command are both flying armed drones over Syria in a collaboration responsible for several recent strikes against senior Isis operatives, according to US officials. Among those killed was a British militant believed to be an architect of the group's effort to use social media to incite attacks in the US. The clandestine programme represents a significant escalation of the CIA's involvement in the war in Syria, enlisting the agency's powerful Counterterrorism Centre. But while the centre has been given an expanded role in identifying and locating senior Isis figures, US officials said the strikes were carried out exclusively by the special operations command. They said the programme was aimed at terrorism suspects deemed "high value targets". "These people are being identified and targeted through a separate effort," said a senior US official, referring to the British militant, Junaid Hussain, and others killed in recent weeks. |
| Posted by:Fred |