2008 Abu Kamal Raid - The Raid

The Raid

The raid took place in Eastern Syria near Abu Kamal, which is near the Iraqi border city of Al-Qa'im. This area was regarded by the U.S. as the main crossing point into Iraq for fighters, money, and equipment in support of the Iraqi insurgency. At some point in time the Central Intelligence Agency confirmed the location of al-Qaeda coordinator Abu Ghadiya, accused of being responsible for much of the smuggling, and suggested the raid be undertaken. According to Cable News Network, US President George W. Bush likely approved the mission.

Four American Blackhawk helicopters entered Syrian airspace around 16:45 local time on October 26 and deployed roughly two dozen soldiers, who attacked a building under construction in the village of As Sukkariyah, just north of Abu Kamal. Sky News reported that two of the four American helicopters landed, allowing 10 US Army Special Forces soldiers to disembark and storm a building under construction. The Syrian government stated that the soldiers killed eight civilians, including a man, his four children, and a married couple. However, reporters said they only saw seven bodies, and no children. U.S. officials contended that all those killed during the raid were associated with Abu Ghadiya, the operation's target. A villager from the area stated that at least two men were seized by the American forces. An eyewitness told the BBC that two of the dead — the married couple — were "very simple people" who "lived in a tent and were being paid to guard building materials such as cement and timber, 24 hours a day. These people will have had nothing to do with the insurgency in Iraq." Syria's official news agency gave the names of the dead as Dahud Mohammed al-Abdullah, his four sons, and Ahmed Khalifeh Ali Abbas al-Hassan and his wife. The US disputed the Syrians' statement of civilian casualties, claiming that all of the people killed in the assault were militants.