9781422277171

SPECIAL FORCES: STORIES

A Terrorist Goes Down!

Delta Force in Syria akes Out an ISIS Leader

SPECIAL FORCES: STORIES

Captured! Bringing in 9/11 Mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Going After Sparky! Pararescue Jumpers Bring Vietnam War Pilot Home Rescue from an ISIS Prison! Delta Force in Iraq During the War on Terror Saving Private Lynch! A Rescue Story from Operation Iraqi Freedom Storming the Somali Pirates! Navy SEALs Save Hostages Take Out Bin Laden! Navy SEALs Hit the Most Wanted Man A Terrorist Goes Down! Delta Forces in Syria Take Out an ISIS Leader World War II Prison Breakout! Army Rangers Make Their Mark

A Terrorist Goes Down! Delta Force in Syria Takes Out an ISIS Leader

By John Perritano

Mason Crest

Mason Crest 450 Parkway Drive, Suite D Broomall, PA 19008 www.masoncrest.com © 2019 by Mason Crest, an imprint of National Highlights, Inc.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Perritano, John, author. Title: A terrorist goes down! : Delta Forces in Syria take out an ISIS leader / by John Perritano. Description: Broomall, PA : Mason Crest, [2018] | Series: Special forces stories | Includes index. Identifiers: LCCN 2017053435| ISBN 9781422240847 (hardback) | ISBN 9781422240779 (series) | ISBN 9781422277171 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: United States. Army. Delta Force--Juvenile literature. | United States. Army--Commando troops--Juvenile literature. | IS (Organization)--Juvenile literature. | Special operations (Military science)--Syria--Juvenile literature. | Terrorism--Syria--Juvenile literature. | Terrorism--Prevention--Juvenile literature. | War on Terrorism, 2001-2009--Juvenile literature. Classification: LCC UA34.S64 P46 2019 | DDC 956.9104/238--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017053435 You may gain access to certain third party content (“Third-Party Sites”) by scanning and using the QR Codes that appear in this publication (the “QR Codes”). We do not operate or control in any respect any information, products, or services on such Third-Party Sites linked to by us via the QR Codes included in this publication, and we assume no responsibility for any materi- als you may access using the QR Codes. Your use of the QR Codes may be subject to terms, limitations, or restrictions set forth in the applicable terms of use or otherwise established by the owners of the Third-Party Sites. Our linking to such Third-Party Sites via the QR Codes does not imply an endorsement or sponsorship of such Third-Party Sites, or the information, products, or services offered on or through the Third-Party Sites, nor does it imply an endorsement or spon- sorship of this publication by the owners of such Third-Party Sites.

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C ontents

Mission Briefing…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…… 6 1. Mission Report: Inside Delta Force …….…….……20 2. Preparing for Action …….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….34 3. Mission Report: Gear Up … .…….…….…….…….……42 4. Delta Force Goes In …….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….46 Text-Dependent Questions …….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….60 Research Projects …….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….… 61 Find Out More …….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….62 Series Glossary of Key Terms …….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…63 Index… .…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….64 Words to Understand: These words with their easy-to-understand definitions will increase the reader’s understanding of the text, while building vocabulary skills. Sidebars: This boxed material within the main text allows readers to build knowledge, gain insights, explore possibilities, and broaden their perspectives by weaving together additional information to provide realistic and holistic perspectives. Educational Videos: Readers can view videos by scanning our QR codes, providing them with additional educational content to supplement the text. Examples include news coverage, moments in history, speeches, iconic mo- ments, and much more! Text-Dependent Questions: These questions send the reader back to the text for more careful attention to the evidence presented here. Research Projects: Readers are pointed toward areas of further inquiry connected to each chapter. Suggestions are provided for projects that encourage deeper research and analysis. Series Glossary of Key Terms: This back-of-the-book glossary contains ter- minology used throughout this series. Words found here increase the reader’s ability to read and comprehend higher-level books and articles in this field. Key Icons to Look For

I t seems as if they came out of nowhere. It’s June 2014, and a terrorist group based in Iraq blitzes across Syria and Iraq to the gates of Baghdad. They drive in tan Toyota trucks with a black flag waving. The terrorists capture large portions of eastern Syria, and northern and western Iraq. The Iraq War, which had begun in 2003 with a US-led invasion, is supposed to be over. But now a new battle in this volatile region is underway. Hundreds of thousands of people who supported Iraq’s brutal dictator, Saddam Hus- sein, are angry. Saddam is dead and they have no jobs. They are penniless. Many had been imprisoned by the Americans, and became radicalized . They are filled with hate. Hate for the United States and its allies. Hate for the West- ern world. Hate for those who are not like them. They are Muslims, but they M ission B riefing

Words To Understand

destabilized cause unrest heretic a person who has differences with a religious teaching jihadist a person who believes in a holy war morphed changed occupation the action of being conquered by a military force radicalized adopted a radical position on a political or social issue sectarian relating to different groups

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Armed pickup trucks flying the black ISIS flag quickly became familiar sights on TV news in the 2000s.

do not believe in peace as Muslims do. They want to push their radical and violent brand of Islam on the world. They move into Syria and meet up with others who share their views. They call themselves the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria—ISIS, for short. Its founder is a man named Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. He is a one-time petty criminal and a bloodthirsty fanatic. He moved to Iraq from his native Jordan to fight the Americans and their allies during the Iraq War. He died in 2006 when US war- planes attacked his lair. Zarqawi is dead, but ISIS lives on.

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Residents of Mosul, Iraq, fought to pre- vent their home city from being overrun by ISIS forces.

As ISIS marches across the desert toward Baghdad, the Iraqi army tries to stop the group. It fails. Soldiers run away in retreat. ISIS militants seize billions of dollars in weapons and equipment left behind by the US military. The terrorists aren’t afraid to die. That’s the least of their worries. They only want to destroy and kill. The world watches in horror as ISIS fighters seize the Iraqi cities of Mosul, Tikrit, Fallujah, and Ramadi. As they move through these cities, ISIS beheads their enemies and foreign journalists. They kidnap women and use them as slaves. They stone others to death. All the while they videotape their actions and broadcast them around the world. They hope to rally others to their cause.

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ISIS’ new leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, declares a religious caliphate, or kingdom, in the territory ISIS holds in Syria and Iraq. He appoints himself the unquestionable ruler. He tells the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims to answer only to him. He wants them to move to Iraq and Syria and become soldiers. Some do. In no time, ISIS becomes the most powerful terrorist organization in the world. It is much strong than al-Qaeda, the group responsible for the Septem- ber 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington, DC. As ISIS extends its reach into Iraq and Syria, it uses captured oil to finance its deadly reign of terror. Some experts suggest the group is pumping up to 40,000 barrels of crude oil a day from the energy-rich fields. The group illegally sells the oil for between $20 and $45 a barrel, earning ISIS, on average, $1.5 million a day. At the head of this multi-million-dollar enterprise is Abu Sayyaf. No one really knows who he is. He is mostly invisible, a terrorist without a face. The The Many Names of ISIS ISIS, or the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, goes by many names. They include: ISIL: Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Greater Syria). President Obama and other officials used this name to describe the group. IS: ISIS changed its name to Islamic State to showcase its global strategy was not limited to Syria and Iraq. Daesh:  The Arabic abbreviation for the group.

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most dangerous kind. Yet, he is very important. He acts as if he is running a company. He has a lot of information. He knows a lot of people. He knows where the money is. He knows where it goes. He has access to information— information the Americans need to defeat ISIS. That knowledge has put a target on Sayyaf’s back. To stop ISIS, the United States decides to go after its source of money—its oil, its black gold. The US also goes after Sayyaf himself. It will be the job of an elite group of US Army commandos—Delta Force—to find Sayyaf and deliver a major blow to ISIS and its financial network.

This is a photo of a man believed to be Abu Sayyaf, the man Delta Force was tasked to bring to justice.

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US forces passed beneath huge stat- ues of crossed swords as they moved into Iraq in 2003.

The Iraq War ISIS did indeed seem to come out of nowhere in 2014. Yet, its seeds as a ter- rorist organization were planted more than 10 years before when the United States invaded Iraq. On March 19, 2003, the United States, Great Britain, and several other countries, went to war to oust Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. At that time, President George W. Bush claimed—wrongly, it would turn out—that Saddam was secretly producing weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Bush and others said Iraq had chemical and biological weapons. Bush also feared Hussein and Iraq were well on their way to building the most powerful WMD of all—a nuclear weapon.

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In late December 2003, President George W. Bush addressed the nation to report the capture of Saddam Hussein.

12 12 In the run-up to war, the Bush administration repeatedly overstated the threat Iraq posed to the United States and the world. Officials also said that Hussein was somehow involved in the September 11 terrorist attacks. Hussein, a US Senate Intelligence Committee report would later conclude, was never involved. Still, the invasion took place. American, British, and other troops stormed into the ancient land and defeated Hussein’s army. In the end, the United States captured Saddam. He was hiding in a “spider’s hole” underground.

The new Iraqi government put Hussein on trial. A court found him guilty and hanged him. No one ever found any weapons of mass destruction. Despite Saddam Hussein’s death and the occupation of Iraq by US forces, the Iraq War destabilized an already unstable region. The Birth of ISIS At the time, US Vice President Richard Cheney boasted that the Iraqi people would welcome the Americans as “liberators,” or saviors. Nothing of the sort happened. Instead, after major combat operations were supposedly over, and after President Bush proclaimed, “mission accomplished,” the United States and its allies hunkered down in what would become a deadly occupation. Shiite vs. Sunni Shia and Sunnis are two different groups of Muslims that split off from one another centuries ago when the Prophet Muhammad died in 632. At that time, there was great controversy over who would be Muhammad’s successor. The Shiites believed that the Prophet’s heir should come from Muhammad’s family. The Sunnis believed the new Muslim leader should be the person who was the best leader. Tensions between both sides often erupted in conflict over the decades. The Shiites tended to be the minority and lived in the poorest sections of Muslim society in countries governed by Sunnis. The Shiites viewed themselves as being oppressed and discriminated against. Sunni extremists consider the Shia heretics . The division within Islam continues to play a huge part in Mideast politics today.

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Foreign terrorists flooded into Iraq to fight the Americans and their Iraqi al- lies. Moreover, a bloody sectarian war between Sunni and Shia Muslims drove millions from their homes. The civil war tossed the region into even more chaos. At that time, ISIS was not known as ISIS. Instead, it was called al-Qaeda in Iraq. Under the command of Zarqawi, the group began its bloodletting by blowing up the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad in August 2003. They also killed innocent Iraqis, Americans, and others. A surge of US troops put a lid on the violence for a moment. Then, under President Barack Obama, the US began to withdraw troops from the country.

US forces aimed artillery shells at entrenched Iraqi forces during the 2003 action.

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