- Members of US Special Operations Affairs Unit is hunt for ISIS militants in Syria
- Group are specialists, linguists, talking to villagers and gathering intelligence
- They wear tribal clothing, armed semi-auto rifle, a pistol and a raft of grenades
An expert team of female special forces operatives are leading the hunt for ISIS in Syria.
Last week, the ISIS capital Raqqa finally fell to the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces, after four months of bloody battles.
But despite the city being liberated, there are still hundreds of jihadis in hiding and waiting to launch their own guerrilla campaign.
Like the 300 members of the SAS still based in Syria, the US Special Operations Affairs Unit is playing a vital role in tracking down the militants in the war-torn country and neighbouring Iraq.
A member of the US Special Operations Affairs Unit shakes the hand of a young boy, while on a presence patrol in Afghanistan. The unit is now on the hunt for ISIS in Syria
The US group, made up mainly of linguists, who have undergone extensive training, are there to gather intelligence by reaching out to village elders and community leaders.
They do not wear a uniform, instead wearing tribal clothing, and are armed with Colt AR-15 semi-automatic rifles, a hidden pistol and a small arsenal of grenades.
As well as hunting for jihadis the group is also there to aid in re-establishing the control of local police forces to communities in Syria.
A military source told the Sunday Express last night: ‘Everyone is saying IS is beaten and to a large extent that’s true, but there are still hundreds of militants who need to be found.
‘The task now is to ensure there isn’t any kind of vacuum which allows those who are still fighting to reassert themselves.
‘Multilateral operations like this are vital while we wait for free Syrian democratic forces to establish themselves.’