The US on Sunday conducted precision strikes in Syria, killing 37 terrorist operatives, including high-ranking leaders from ISIS.
In a statement, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said, “CENTCOM Forces conducted two targeted strikes in Syria, killing 37 terrorist operatives, including multiple senior leaders of the terrorist organisations of ISIS and Hurras al-Din, an Al Qaeda affiliate.”
The statement further said that the airstrikes are part of CENTCOM’s ongoing commitment, “along with partners in the region, to disrupt and degrade efforts by terrorists to plan, organise, and conduct attacks against civilians and military personnel from the US, our allies, and our partners throughout the region and beyond”, added the release.
On September 24, CENTCOM had conducted a targeted strike in northwest Syria, resulting in the deaths of nine terrorist operatives, including Marwan Bassam ‘Abd-al-Ra’uf, a senior leader of Hurras al-Din, an al-Qaeda-affiliated organization responsible for military operations in Syria.
This strike follows a previous successful operation that killed another Hurras al-Din leader, Abu-‘Abd al-Rahman al Makki. CENTCOM also reported a large-scale airstrike on September 16 at an ISIS training camp in central Syria, which killed at least 28 ISIS operatives, including four senior leaders.
General Michael Erik Kurilla, commander of CENTCOM, emphasized that these strikes reflect the U.S. commitment to defeating terrorist organizations in the region and noted that there were no civilian casualties from these operations.
Approximately 900 US forces are stationed in Syria, alongside an undisclosed number of contractors, primarily focused on preventing the resurgence of the extremist ISIS group, which seized large territories in Iraq and Syria in 2014, Times of Israel reported.
US forces provide advice and assistance to their main allies in northeastern Syria, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, who operate near critical regions where Iran-backed terrorist groups are active, including a vital border crossing with Iraq.