Tribal spies in Syria help U.S. win drone war against Islamic State

FILE PHOTO: A suveillance image shows a compound housing the leader of the Islamic State jihadist group Abu Ibrahim al-Hashemi al-Quraishi, who had led Islamic State since the death in 2019 of its founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, in northwest Syria prior to a raid executed by U.S. forces February 2, 2022. Department of Defense/Handout via REUTERS.

AMMAN (Reuters) - When the U.S. military targeted Islamic State commander Maher al-Agal with a drone strike in northern Syria in July, there was little chance it would miss. The reason? Revenge.

With Islamic State's last battle-hardened forces holed up in remote areas, the United States is turning to the aid of tribesmen burning to exact revenge for the atrocities unleashed by the group when it ruled over swathes of Syria and Iraq.