A door gunner
© Photo: U.S. Combat CameraMarch 2, 2017 – A door gunner from Joint Task Force Iraq’s Tactical Aviation Detachment keeps watch during a CH-146 Griffon helicopter flight near Erbil, Iraq as a part of Operation IMPACT
On September 22, local sources familiar with the situation in the Euphrates Valley told the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) that helicopters of the US-led coalition had evacuated several ISIS commanders from an area near the town of al-Marashidah in the southeastern Deir Ezzor countryside. According to the sources, the terrorists were taken to an unknown destination.

The pro-opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) confirmed the SANA's report claiming that the terrorists, who had been evacuated, were spies of the US-led coalition.

The US-led coalition and its proxies, mainly the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), are currently conducting a military operation to clear the ISIS-held pocket in the southeastern Deir Ezzor countryside. This explains why the coalition would evacuate its spies or even foreign fighters who may be relocated to other countries.

In the last two years, Syrian pro-government and opposition sources accused the US-led coalition of evacuating dozens of ISIS commanders from eastern Syria. However, the coalition has never acknowledged these claims.