4 US troops wounded in Syria raid that killed senior ISIS leader

Updated: 11:39 PM EST Feb 17, 2023

Four U.S. troops were wounded in a helicopter raid in Syria that killed a senior ISIS leader on Thursday night, according to the U.S. military.The U.S. troops, as well as a working dog, were wounded during the raid when there was an "explosion," U.S. Central Command said in a statement. The raid killed Hamza al-Homsi, a senior ISIS leader.Officials told CNN that U.S. forces were "close to" al-Homsi when the explosion happened, killing al-Homsi and wounding the U.S. service members. It is unclear at this point if the explosion was the result of a suicide vest, a booby trap, or something else, two officials said.Three of the service members are in stable condition, according to another military official familiar with the operation, as is the working dog. The fourth service member suffered minor injuries and has returned to duty, the official said.Three of the troops and the dog are currently receiving treatment in a medical facility in Iraq. The U.S. service members may be transported to the military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, for further treatment, according to the two officials.The joint raid was carried out by U.S. and Syrian Democratic Forces, said CENTCOM.No Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) troops were injured in the raid, the two officials told CNN.CENTCOM also announced in a tweet that a separate raid on February 10 killed "Ibrahim Al Qahtani, an ISIS official associated with planning ISIS detention center attacks."The raid also "resulted in the seizure of multiple weapons, ammo, and a suicide belt," according to the tweet.Two other ISIS leaders were killed in Syria in October last year, when the U.S. carried out an airstrike in northern Syria. The strike killed Abu 'Ala, ISIS' deputy leader in Syria and one of the terror group's top five leaders, as well as Abu Mu'Ad al-Qahtani, an ISIS leader in charge of prisoner affairs.Another senior ISIS leader, Bilal al-Sudani, was killed just last month in a U.S. military operation in Somalia.

We rarely get to see behind the lines of fire and into the technology that keeps our troops safe on the battlefield.

But that changed recently when the advanced weapons technology company, AimLock, opened their doors ever so slightly to show us the auto-tracking, auto-aiming, and auto-stabilizing device that is being tested by the U.S. government right now.

“It certainly seems like [this technology becoming the future of combat] is an inevitability,” said Bryan Bochmon, CEO of the company. “Our adversaries are going to use automated lethal force at some point in the future because there are public examples where they have used it against some of their other enemies.”

Bochmon made our rules of engagement during our visit very clear: no close-up video or photographs within six feet, no video or photographs of employees, no shots that might reveal our location, and the answer to many of our questions would probably be “that’s private information.”

The technology was first created in 2014 when AimLock was founded. Bochmon describes it as a similar tech to what is found in precision-guided missiles; a computer that can track up to 100 targets at one time while moving from target to target in half of a second, delivering a precision strike each time. The technology, however, requires an authorized human operator to make the decision to deliver it.

I asked Bochmon what ethical considerations were discussed through the technology’s development.

“Absolutely,” he said. “Any time a new technology is created there are all kinds of intended consequences and unintended consequences. In general, all decisions about whether or not it’s appropriate to use lethal force are reserved for appropriate human operators, so when we build these machines, we make sure that the right human operators have full control and authority and decision to use force.”

Bochmon says outside of eliminating high-value targets, the technology is exceptionally useful at protecting our troops from threats on the battlefield such as mortar strikes and other lethal forces launched in the direction of US troops. In addition, Bochmon says a goal of the technology is to reduce collateral damage such as friendly fire by increasing accuracy and reducing human error.

Currently, AimLock has three weapons systems out for testing: a drone with an attached carbine underneath it, a buggy with a machine gun turret attached to the top, and a precision rifle. Each is remote-controlled by the human operator.

The technology is not available for public sale.