The US military, on Sunday, said it killed 37 Islamist militants in two airstrikes this month in Syria, with the dead including many senior leaders of Islamic State and of an Al Qaeda affiliate called Hurras al-Din that is based in Syria. US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement that the strikes took place on September 16 and Sept. 24, adding there was no indication any civilians were harmed.
They also announced a strike from earlier this month on Sept 16, where they conducted a “large-scale airstrike” on an IS training camp in a remote undisclosed location in central Syria. That attack killed 28 militants, including “at least four Syrian leaders.”
“The airstrike will disrupt ISIS’ capability to conduct operations against US interests, as well as our allies and partners,” the statement read.
There are some 900 US forces in Syria, along with an undisclosed number of contractors, mostly trying to prevent any comeback by the extremist IS group, which swept through Iraq and Syria in 2014, taking control of large swaths of territory.
US forces advise and assist their key allies in northeastern Syria, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, located not far from strategic areas where Iran-backed militant groups are present, including a key border crossing with Iraq.
(With inputs from agency)
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