The United States military disclosed on Tuesday that a series of operations in Syria this month resulted in the deaths of at least seven ISIS operatives and the capture of a dozen more. These actions were in response to an earlier ambush that resulted in the loss of two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter.
According to a statement from US Central Command, which is responsible for overseeing military activities in the Middle East, a total of 11 missions were executed between December 20 and December 29. This followed an initial round of airstrikes targeting ISIS weaponry and vital infrastructure.
These airstrikes, coordinated with Jordanian officials, successfully hit 70 strategic locations throughout central Syria.
In the subsequent operations, the US military, along with regional allies including Syrian forces, managed to destroy four weapons caches, as reported by Centcom.
“Our resolve is unwavering,” stated Admiral Brad Cooper, the commander of the operation. “We remain dedicated to collaborating with regional partners to eradicate the ISIS threat impacting US and regional security.”
Admiral Cooper further affirmed that US forces would persist in “tracking down terrorist operatives, dismantling ISIS networks, and cooperating with partners to thwart any potential resurgence of ISIS.”
Targets ranged from senior Islamic State (IS) members who were being closely monitored by military officials to lower-level foot soldiers, according to a US official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations.
The official said a growing collaboration between the United States and Syria’s relatively new government meant that American forces were able to attack IS in areas of the country where they previously did not operate.
Syrian forces were the driving force behind some of the missions against the militant group this year, the official added.
The US military announced on Tuesday that at least seven ISIS fighters were killed and a dozen members of the terrorist group were captured in Syria this month
US Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, said in a statement on X that 11 missions were carried out from December 20 through December 29, following initial airstrikes on IS weapons and infrastructure on December 19 (pictured)
The official compared the growing cooperation to that between the US and Iraq in fighting IS a decade ago and said the goal, like in Iraq, is to ultimately hand over the effort fully to the Syrians.
But for now, the US now maintains a military presence of roughly 1,000 troops in Syria as the transitional government struggles to maintain control of all of the country’s territory and quell sporadic violence following the ouster of former President Bashar Al-Assad by rebel forces, led by current President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
The US’s latest operations came as retaliation for a December 13 ambush that occurred near the ancient city of Palmyra while American and Syrian security officials had gathered for a meeting over lunch.
Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, Iowa, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard of Marshalltown, Iowa, were killed in the attack as well as a civilian interpreter from Michigan.
Both soldiers were members of the Iowa National Guard, which began deploying roughly 1,800 troops to the Middle East as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the US mission to defeat ISIS.
Three other Iowa National Guard members were also injured in the December 13 attack, as were members of Syria’s security forces.
Authorities have since said that the gunman, who was killed, joined Syria’s Internal Security forces as a base security guard. He had recently been reassigned over suspicion he might be affiliated with ISIS, though the terrorist group has not claimed responsibility for the attack, according to CNN.
Following the attack, US President Donald Trump vowed retaliation, saying there would be ‘a lot of damage done to the people that did it.
‘We had three great patriots terminated by bad people and not the Syrian government – it was ISIS,’ he said.
The US’s latest operations came as retaliation for a December 13 ambush that took the lives of Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, Iowa, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard of Marshalltown, Iowa
Following the attack, US President Donald Trump vowed retaliation, saying there would be ‘a lot of damage done to the people that did it’
The terrorist group had also inspired at least 11 plots against targets inside the United States this year, US Centcom said this year, without releasing details.
As a result, Centcom said it has conducted dozens of operations this year that have killed or captured as many as 300 ISIS fighters, including an operation that killed senior Islamic State operative Omar Abdul Qader, the Washington Post reports.
But the December retaliatory strike on ISIS targets in Syria – which included fighter jets from Jordan – was a major test for the warming ties between the US and Syria since last year’s ouster of Bashar al-Assad.
When al-Sharaa visited the White House in November, the Trump administration announced that Syria joined the anti-Islamic State global coalition.
Following the attack that took the lives of the two servicemembers, Trump also said that al-Sharaa was ‘extremely angry and disturbed by this attack.’
In the weeks since, Syria’s interior ministry has even announced a series of raids targeting the Islamic State in several provinces.
