•US Troops
American air strikes killed up to 35 Islamic State group members in Syria earlier this week, the US military said today.
It is the latest in a series of operations in recent months by US and local forces in Iraq and Syria against the jihadists, who once held swathes of territory in both countries, reports AFP.
“The strikes targeted multiple ISIS locations in the Syrian desert, targeting multiple ISIS senior leaders,” US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on social media, using an acronym for the Islamic State (IS) group.
There are no indications of civilian casualties from the strikes, which were carried out on October 28, CENTCOM said.
“The air strikes will disrupt the ability of ISIS to plan, organize and conduct attacks against civilians as well as US allies and partners throughout the region and beyond,” it added.
US and Iraqi forces conducted a joint raid last week that Baghdad said left nine jihadists dead, among them the top IS leader in the country, while CENTCOM announced on October 18 that Iraqi strikes had killed a senior leader from the group along with three other militants.
And at the end of August, a joint operation by US and Iraqi forces killed 14 IS fighters in Iraq’s western desert, among them four of the group’s leaders, CENTCOM said.
The US military has around 900 troops in Syria and 2,500 in Iraq as part of the international anti-IS coalition that was established in 2014 to help combat the jihadists.
American forces periodically carry out strikes in Syria and Iraq targeting militants from IS — which has since lost the territory it once held — and other jihadist groups that are deemed to pose a threat.
