US Central Command (CENTCOM) is reporting the recent capture of ISIS-K leadership as a result of a joint mission between US forces and armed Syrian groups.
CENTCOM claimed its forces had cooperated with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a coalition of armed Kurdish groups, to capture Salah Mohammad Al-Abdullah, an ISIS cell leader, in the vicinity of Shahil, Syria.
Earlier in March, CENTCOM announced the killing of Muhammed Yusuf Ziya Talay, the senior military leader of the terrorist organization Hurras al-Din (HaD), an Al-Qaeda affiliate, in Northwest Syria.
“As we have said in the past, we will continue to relentlessly pursue these terrorists in order to defend our homeland, and U.S., allied, and partner personnel in the region,” said Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, CENTCOM’s commander.
In February and January, CENTCOM and SDF forces ‘enabled’ by the US executed various similar missions targeting ISIS-K and HaD.
The recent increase in the US’ Syrian counterterrorism efforts follows the fall of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad regime.
Syria’s Assad regime had been supported by Russia, which has two military bases along Syria’s coast.
US officials have expressed hope that a regime change could usher in peace and stability to Syria and the broader region.
President Donald Trump claimed the Assad regime ended due to Russia’s waning military capabilities – caused by its war against Ukraine.
“There was no reason for Russia to be there in the first place,” said Trump. “They lost all interest in Syria because of Ukraine, where close to 600,000 Russian soldiers lay wounded or dead, in a war that should never have started, and could go on forever.”
While Syrian rebels led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – a coalition of northern Syria-based Sunni Islamist insurgent groups – have taken control of the majority of Syria, US-backed SDF controls a large portion in Syria’s northwest region.
SDF have previously allegedly claimed they are willing to negotiate with HTS to form one Syrian ruling authority, but no such negotiations are known to have occurred yet.
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