ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United States army announced on Friday that it killed two Islamic State (ISIS) operatives, including a leader, in a “precision airstrike” in eastern Syria on Thursday.
The strike was conducted in Deir ez-Zor province, “in an area formerly controlled by the Syrian regime and Russians,” US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.
ISIS leader Abu Yusif (aka Mahmud) and another member of the group were killed.
The southern areas of Deir ez-Zor province had been under the control of Bashar al-Assad’s army and pro-Iran militia groups until the regime was toppled by rebels on December 8. Rebel groups have moved into these areas once occupied by the regime. The north of the oil-rich province remains under the control of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
ISIS has exploited a security vacuum in parts of the province, which has vast deserts. The US army and its allied SDF have carried out numerous ground and aerial raids against the group there.
“This airstrike is part of CENTCOM’s ongoing commitment, along with partners in the region, to disrupt and degrade efforts by terrorists to plan, organize, and conduct attacks against civilians and military personnel from the U.S., our allies, and our partners throughout the region and beyond,” the CENTCOM statement added.
CENTCOM chief General Michael Erik Kurilla said they are working with their “allies and partners” in the region and “will not allow ISIS to take advantage of the current situation in Syria and reconstitute. ISIS has the intent to break out of detention the over 8,000 ISIS operatives currently being held in facilities in Syria.”
He stressed that they will “aggressively target these leaders and operatives, including those trying to conduct operations external to Syria.”
In 2014, ISIS swept through large swathes of Syria. The group was declared territorially defeated in 2019, but it continues to carry out bombings, hit-and-run attacks, and abductions.
The Pentagon announced on Thursday that there are nearly 2,000 US troops currently stationed in Syria, more than double of earlier official numbers.
“We have been briefing you regularly that there are approximately 900 US troops deployed to Syria… We recently learned that those numbers were higher and so asked to look into it. I learned today that in fact there are approximately 2,000 US troops in Syria,” Pentagon spokesperson Major General Pat Ryder said during a press briefing.
