"The United States military says it has killed or captured about 25 ISIL (ISIS) fighters in a wave of attacks over nine days in Syria. US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees the US military's Middle East operations, issued a statement on Tuesday marking the conclusion of the operations this month. The campaign followed the killing of two US soldiers and a civilian interpreter by an ISIL gunman in Syria on December 13 and widescale US strikes against the group six days later."
"US Central Command (CENTCOM) and partners across Syria killed at least seven ISIS members and captured the remainder during 11 missions conducted Dec. 20-29, CENTCOM statement said. The operations also led to the elimination of four ISIS weapons caches. It did not provide the identities of those targeted. The US deployed as many as 2,000 soldiers to Syria during the fight against ISIL, which started in 2014. The current deployment of US soldiers sits at about 1,000 with the administration of US President Donald Trump announcing this year that it would further slash the number of US bases and soldiers in the country."
"ISIL controlled large areas in Syria and Iraq from 2014 to 2019. Despite the group's territorial defeat, US officials said ISIL remnants continue to pose a threat to the region. The US military has long cooperated with the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northeastern Syria. Since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad a year ago, CENTCOM has said it is also working with the new Syrian government. Syria officially joined the US-led global coalition against ISIL last month after President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former rebel commander who once led a group with ties to al-Qaeda, visited the White House and met with Trump."
US forces conducted a nine-day campaign in Syria that resulted in about 25 ISIL fighters killed or captured. The campaign followed the December 13 killing of two US soldiers and a civilian interpreter and widescale US strikes six days later. CENTCOM and partners ran 11 missions from Dec. 20-29, killing at least seven ISIS members, capturing the rest, and eliminating four weapons caches. The operations did not identify targeted individuals. US troop levels in Syria peaked near 2,000 during the fight and currently sit around 1,000, with further reductions announced. ISIL held territory from 2014–2019, and remnants remain a regional threat.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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