American Delta Force commandos raided a compound in Syria Friday night that was controlled by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), killing Abu Sayyaf, who oversaw the terror group’s oil operations, in what Defense Secretary Ashton Carter called a “significant blow” to the organization, The New York Times reported Saturday.

In the first successful raid by American ground troops since the military campaign against the Islamic State began last year, two dozen Delta Force commandos entered Syria aboard Black Hawk helicopters and V-22 Ospreys and killed the leader, a man known as Abu Sayyaf. One American military official described him as the Islamic State’s “emir of oil and gas.” …

Yet the Pentagon’s description of a nighttime raid that found its intended target deep inside Syria without any American troops being wounded or killed illustrates not only the effectiveness of the Delta Force, but of improving American intelligence on shadowy Islamic State leaders. …

In a statement early Saturday, Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter said the killing of Abu Sayyaf dealt a “significant blow” to the group. The militant leader was said to be involved in the Islamic State’s military operations and helped direct its “illicit oil, gas and financial operations” that raised the funds necessary for the organization to operate. Officials said the raid was approved by President Obama.

An American official told the Times that the raid was made possible by “a small but growing network of informants whom the C.I.A. and the Pentagon have painstakingly developed in Syria, as well as satellite imagery, drone reconnaissance and electronic eavesdropping.”

According to the Defense Department, in addition to killing Sayyaf and other members of ISIS, the commandos also captured Abu Sayyaf’s wife and a Yazidi woman, who was thought to be held as a slave by the group. More importantly, the commandos recovered cell phones and computers, which could provide significant intelligence on ISIS.

The Daily Beast added:

Known as the “emir of oil and gas,” Abu Sayyaf was believed to be a key figure in financing ISIS operations, the first official said, and the second compared him to a chief financial officer.

“The CFO talks to everybody,” the second official said. “He was the lynchpin in their command and control. We knew we would be able to get a lot of information.”

“Abu Sayyaf was a senior ISIL [an acronym for the group used by the U.S. government] leader who, among other things, had a senior role in overseeing ISIL’s illicit oil and gas operations—a key source of revenue that enables the terrorist organization to carry out their brutal tactics and oppress thousands of innocent civilians,” said National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan in a statement after the raid. “He was also involved with the group’s military operations.”

In addition to the immediate effect of removing a significant figure from the leadership of ISIS, an analysis written for the Foreign Policy Research Initiative highlighted longer-term effects the raid could have on the terror group:

First, the raid will be a huge blow to the confidence of ISIS members. After taunting the U.S. to conduct ground operations, Special Forces have gone into the heart of ISIS’s caliphate, eliminated a key target and left without a scratch. ISIS growth has hinged for more than two years on their success in building an Islamic state through military victories. This raid represents an overwhelming defeat harming both ISIS ground operations as well as its online advertising which has up till now drawn an unprecedented number of foreign fighters.

Second, the raid will likely disrupt both financial and military operations. ISIS units will increase their security by communicating less. This will result in weakened command and control and a slow in military operations. This increased security posture may also impede ISIS’s ability to operate a state: a point of great pride for the group and an essential element of their attractiveness to their members.

Third, a successful raid of this caliber likely signals the start of a campaign rather than the conclusion. The raid and its resulting intelligence will ideally yield further elimination of key leaders in the coming weeks and months.

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