{"id":36312,"date":"2018-03-15T16:57:52","date_gmt":"2018-03-15T16:57:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/03\/15\/senior-kurdish-official-key-to-us-policy-in-syria-killed\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:34:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:34:08","slug":"senior-kurdish-official-key-to-us-policy-in-syria-killed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/03\/15\/senior-kurdish-official-key-to-us-policy-in-syria-killed\/","title":{"rendered":"Senior Kurdish official, key to US policy in Syria, killed"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">BEIRUT \u2014 A senior Kurdish official who played a key role with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/03\/09\/us-airstrikes-drop-by-half-after-kurds-depart-anti-isis-fight\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">United States in implementing its post-Islamic State group policy in northern Syria<\/a> has been found dead in his apartment, Kurdish officials said Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Omar Alloush\u2019s death is a blow to the post-ISIS efforts in the region, as he played a key role in mediating between Arabs and Kurds and in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/03\/14\/us-trying-to-improve-syrian-detention-of-foreign-fighters\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">shaping the U.S. policy in the area<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The main Kurdish party in Syria said Thursday the death of Alloush is under investigation, and officials suspect foul play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Alloush was found dead in his apartment in Tal Abyad, a majority Arab town in northern Syria where he helped set up a joint Arab-Kurd administrative council after it was liberated from ISIS in 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-932430856.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-70016\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-932430856.jpg.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-932430856.jpg.jpg?resize=300,157 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-932430856.jpg.jpg?resize=768,402 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-932430856.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,536 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">People carry their belongings as they flee their homes in the town of Hamouria in Syria&#8217;s eastern Ghouta region on March 15, 2018. (Abdulmonam Eassa\/AFP\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Alloush moved on to play a key role in forming the U.S-backed civil council for Raqqa, also a majority Arab town which was also the de-facto capital of ISIS. Raqqa was cleared of the militants last year after months of fighting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Alloush and other Arab tribal leaders were instrumental in negotiating a deal with the remnants of ISIS to evacuate the city after they were squeezed into a small sliver of land.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/03\/14\/russian-claims-that-us-is-planning-a-false-flag-chemical-weapons-attack-is-a-distraction-pentagon-says\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"166\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/syria-62017.jpg_42f8ad.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Russian claims that US is planning a false-flag chemical weapons attack is a distraction, Pentagon says<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">On Tuesday, Russian officials claimed that militants are preparing to use chemical agents in Syria and intend to put the blame on the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, according to Tass, a state-run Russian news agency.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The October evacuation deal allowed a number of ISIS fighters to leave Raqqa in a convoy of vehicles, sparking criticism that the militants were let off the hook. The U.S.-led coalition said it was not involved in the negotiations, which aimed to save lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another Arab mediator who played a key role in an evacuation deal of ISIS militants from Tabqa, a town near Raqqa, was also found killed last month in Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Top Kurdish official Fawza Yousef said Alloush\u2019s killing is a blow to joint Arab-Kurdish action and social peace following the defeat of ISIS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOmar Alloush had a key role in forming the Raqqa city council and in developing the concept of coexistence in Tal Abyad, Raqqa and Tabqa,\u201d she said, naming also another major town west of Raqqa that was recaptured from ISIS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those who killed him \u201cwant to incite sedition between ethnic groups and ignite internal infighting,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yousef accused Turkey of being behind the assassination of Alloush, saying he received threats before. Turkey views the dominant Kurdish militia, which is the U.S. partner in the fight against ISIS in Syria, as a terrorist group.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/video\/2018\/03\/12\/is-russia-holding-back-on-why-it-deployed-fifth-gen-fighters-to-syria\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/video-poster-c5354a09-7012-4f5d-b0bd-63a2cd003f53.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Is Russia holding back on why it deployed fifth-gen fighters to Syria?<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Russia&#039;s defense minister has spoken publicly about the Su-57&#039;s presence in Syria, but is there more to the story than what he is revealing?<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ankara had sent troops into Syria to push the Kurdish militia away from its borders and prevent it from linking up areas it controls in west and east Syria. The U.S. support for the Kurdish-led forces was a reason for souring relations with Ankara.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nadim Houry, director of the counter-terrorism program for Human Rights Watch, called Alloush\u2019s death \u201cterrible news,\u201d describing him as a \u201ccornerstone\u201d of Kurdish-Arab relations in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhoever killed him wants to destabilize the area,\u201d Houry wrote on his Twitter account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">U.S. officials had no immediate comment on Alloush\u2019s death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nicholas Heras, a Middle East Security Fellow at the Washington-based Center for a New American Security, said Alloush\u2019s suspected killing was a \u201cterrible blow\u201d to the U.S. efforts to stabilize Raqqa and therefore U.S. strategy in Syria. The Kurdish-led forces have \u201ca big bulls eye on its back and the road ahead will not be easy.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Omar Alloush\u2019s death is a blow to the post-ISIS efforts in the region, as he played a key role in mediating between Arabs and Kurds and in shaping the U.S. policy in the 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