This article was originally published on Washington Times - World. You can read the original article HERE
U.S. forces in recent days carried out a pair of major airstrikes across Syria, killing key terrorist figures and dozens of fighters linked to the Islamic State and al Qaeda, the Pentagon said Sunday in a statement.
U.S. Central Command said the first strike, on Sept. 16, targeted an Islamic State training camp in central Syria. At least 28 ISIS fighters were killed, including four senior leaders, military officials said.
On Sept. 24, CENTCOM said it targeted the terror group Hurras al-Din, an al Qaeda affiliate, in northwest Syria. That strike killed at least nine fighters, including key leader Marwan Bassam ’Abd-al-Ra’uf, who oversees the group’s operations in Syria, the Pentagon said.
“These strikes against leadership and operatives of ISIS and the al Qaeda affiliate, Hurras al-Din, represent CENTCOM’s commitment to the enduring defeat of terrorist organizations in the CENTCOM area of responsibility and our support to regional stability,” Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, CENTCOM commander, said in a statement.
The strikes in Syria come against the broader backdrop of violence stretching across the Middle East, as Israel battles Hamas, Hezbollah, and other arms of Iran’s “axis of resistance,” its network of proxy groups in the region.
The announcement of the U.S. strikes in Syria also came just days after the Biden administration said it will make major changes to the American anti-ISIS campaign, which began a decade ago. The Pentagon said last week that its mission in Iraq will wind down over the next year and transition from an international coalition to a bilateral defense partnership between Washington and Baghdad.
The coalition’s anti-ISIS mission in Syria operating from bases inside Iraq’s Kurdish region will continue until September 2026, officials said. The U.S. also has about 900 troops stationed in Syria, and those forces are expected to remain there even after the changes to American force posture in Iraq.
This article was originally published by Washington Times - World. We only curate news from sources that align with the core values of our intended conservative audience. If you like the news you read here we encourage you to utilize the original sources for even more great news and opinions you can trust!
Comments