Family relatives and Syrian officials told The Associated Press that a guy who had been working undercover to gather intelligence on the extremists was murdered during a raid by US forces and a local Syrian organization that was intended to apprehend an official of the Islamic State group.
As the United States starts collaborating with interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa to combat IS remnants, the October killing highlights the complicated political and security environment.
Relatives claim that Khaled al-Masoud had been spying on IS for years on behalf of al-Sharaa's insurgents and then for al-Sharaa's transitional administration, which was set up following the overthrow of former President Bashar Assad a year ago.

Officials from the Syrian and American governments have not commented on al-Masoud's passing, suggesting that neither party wants the tragedy to sabotage growing relations. Al-Sharaa visited Washington a few weeks after the raid on October 19 and declared Syria will join the international coalition against IS.
However, Wassim Nasr, a senior research fellow at the Soufan Center, a security-focused think tank in New York, stated that al-Masoud's passing could be "quite a setback" for efforts to fight IS.
According to Nasr, al-Masoud had been infiltrating IS in the Badiya, a region of Syria's southern deserts where the extremist group's remnants have continued to operate.
Nasr claimed that "the lack of coordination between the coalition and Damascus" was the cause of the raid that was directed at him.

The U.S. Central Command announced on Sunday that 15 IS weapons caches in the south had been found and destroyed by American troops and forces from Syria's Interior Ministry, the most recent indication of the growing cooperation.

Uncertainty surrounding the raid
The raid took place in Dumayr, a town on the edge of the desert east of Damascus. The sound of heavy cars and airplanes woke the locals at about three in the morning.
The Syrian Free Army, a U.S.-trained rebel group that has battled Assad, was reportedly involved in the attack with American Marines, according to locals. The Syrian Defense Ministry is now the SFA's official reporting body.
Abdel Kareem Masoud, Al-Masoud's cousin, claimed that as he opened his door, he noticed Humvees flying American flags.The soldiers then surrounded her son's home next door, where he was with his wife and five daughters, according to Khaled al-Masoud's mother, Sabah al-Sheikh al-Kilani, and pounded on the door.
According to al-Kilani, they smashed down the door and shot Al-Masoud after he informed them that he was with General Security, a force under Syria's Interior Ministry.
Al-Kilani said, "They took him away, wounded." The family was then informed by government security personnel that he had been freed but was still in the hospital. After that, the family was summoned to retrieve his body. When he had passed away was unknown.
"How did he pass away? "We're not sure," his mother remarked. "I want those responsible for his kidnapping to be held accountable."

Inadequate intelligence
According to Al-Masoud's family, false information supplied by Syrian Free Army members led to his targeting.
Requests for comment from SFA representatives were not answered.
According to his cousin, Al-Masoud had collaborated with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, al-Sharaa's rebel organization, in its northwest enclave of Idlib prior to Assad's downfall. After that, he went back to Dumayr to work for al-Sharaa's government's security services.
Al-Masoud had been working in a security capacity with Syria's interim administration, according to two Syrian security sources and one political figure who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not permitted to discuss publicly. He had worked on fighting IS, according to two of the authorities.

An IS official was reportedly arrested in the raid, according to early media reports. However, no notice was made by U.S. Central Command, which usually releases remarks when a U.S. operation kills or apprehends a terrorist group member in Syria
"We are aware of these reports but do not have any information to provide," a U.S. defense official responded when questioned about the raid, its target, and if it had been coordinated with the Syrian government. In compliance with norms, the official spoke under the condition of anonymity.

The defense and interior ministries of Syria, as well as Tom Barrack, the American envoy to Syria, declined to comment.
Improved collaboration could help avoid errors.
At its height in 2015, IS ruled over an area half the size of the United Kingdom in both Syria and Iraq. It was infamous for its violence against Muslims who did not follow the group's radical interpretation of Islam and against religious minorities.
In late 2019, the coalition led by the United States broke the group's final territorial hold after years of conflict. U.S. troops have been in Syria ever then to prevent IS from reestablishing itself.

It is estimated that less than 1,000 American soldiers are conducting raids and airstrikes against IS cells in Syria. They mostly collaborate with the Syrian Free Army in the south and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in the northeast.

The security forces of the new Syrian government are now another ally of the United States.
Since 2020, 52 instances of people being killed or injured during coalition operations in Syria have been reported by London-based conflict monitor Airwars.
Al-Masoud was categorized as a civilian by the gang.
The organization has witnessed "multiple instances of what the U.S. call 'mistakes,'" according to Airwars director Emily Tripp. One such occurrence occurred in 2023 when the U.S. military declared it had killed an al-Qaida senior in a drone strike.

It was unclear if the Oct. 19 operation failed because of inaccurate intelligence or whether the coalition was purposefully misled. According to Nasr, rival factions have occasionally used the coalition to settle scores in the past.
"Seeing who's who on the ground is the entire purpose of having a hotline with Damascus," he stated.