US military announces killing 12 Islamic State members in strikes

The US military announced it had killed 12 members of the Islamic State group on Monday in airstrikes in Syria that targeted “leaders, fighters and camps” of the jihadist group. These strikes were carried out “to prevent the terrorist group from carrying out external operations and to ensure that ISIS does not seek to take advantage of the situation to reconstitute itself in central Syria”the American military command for the Middle East (Centcom) said in a statement on X.

“There is no indication of civilian casualties” at this stage, specifies Centcom about these strikes carried out according to Washington in areas formerly controlled by the power of Bashar al-Assad, overthrown on December 8 by a coalition of rebel groups led by radical Islamists after 14 years of civil war . The day the regime fell, Washington had already carried out numerous strikes against IS positions.

Ensuring Islamic State 'never comes back'

“Centcom, working with its allies and partners in the region, will not allow ISIS to reconstitute itself and take advantage of the current situation in Syria”said Erik Kurilla, Centcom’s top general, in the press release. “Our country has worked very hard … to ensure the elimination of the territorial caliphate of ISIS, to ensure that this threat does not return again. And it is imperative that we continue these efforts”declared Friday the head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, visiting Ankara.

The United States has about 900 troops in Syria and 2,500 in Iraq as part of the international coalition assembled in 2014 to fight ISIS in the two countries.