The U.S. military in Syria killed a top ISIS leader Thursday in an airstrike over territory formerly controlled by now-toppled President Bashar al-Assad and Russia.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces announced it killed ISIS leader Abu Yusif aka Mahmud and one other in the Dayr az Zawr Province, Syria, according to CENTCOM on X. The move comes after a rebel group led by Islamic fundamentalist terrorist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) took the capital of Damascus, plunging the nation into uncertainty.
“As stated before, the United States — working with allies and partners in the region — will not allow ISIS to take advantage of the current situation in Syria and reconstitute,” Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, CENTCOM commander said in a statement. “ISIS has the intent to break out of detention the over 8,000 ISIS operatives currently being held in facilities in Syria. We will aggressively target these leaders and operatives, including those trying to conduct operations external to Syria.”
The Pentagon initially claimed to station 900 U.S. troops in Syria, but Pentagon Press Secretary Pat Ryder said Thursday at a press conference that they “recently learned” the real number was 2,000. All the troops are committed to the Defeat ISIS mission.
ISIS’ presence in Syria has drastically diminished since the height of its power, isolated to a few pockets of resistance in the nation, according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The Trump administration wiped out the vast majority of ISIS‘s presence in the Middle East during its tenure.
However, a recent conflict between two rebel groups, the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) and the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), raised concerns that 9,000 ISIS soldiers detained by the SDF may be set free in the midst of the chaos, according to U.S. officials.
CENTCOM did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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