At two in the morning, all four helicopters took off.
Two Mi-24 "Hind" armed helicopters, one Mi-17 transport helicopter, and one ultralight "Little Antelope" helicopter.
The Syrian Air Force had never conducted night bombings or airdrop operations before. Gao Yang believed their action would achieve maximum surprise, but whether they could accurately strike the right location was something he could not guarantee.
The afternoon reconnaissance yielded some results, with photographs sent back at dusk. Yake made a judgment based on the photos and selected the most likely building where Badadi might be hiding.
The Syrian civil war had been long-standing, and the Adra District was a contested area with almost no intact buildings. It was extremely difficult to find a likely command center in a region that was a bit better than just ruins.