US forces carried out two separate strikes in Syria, resulting in the deaths of 37 “terrorist operatives,” including members of the Islamic State group and the Al Qaeda affiliate Hurras al-Din, according to a statement from the military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) on Sunday.
A strike on September 24 in northwest Syria eliminated nine “terrorist operatives,” among them Marwan Bassam ‘Abd-al-Ra’uf, a senior leader of Hurras al-Din. Another strike on September 16 in central Syria targeted an IS training camp, killing at least 28 individuals, including four senior leaders, although their identities were not disclosed.
Currently, the US has around 900 troops stationed in Syria as part of an international coalition aimed at combating the Islamic State group, which has previously seized large territories in both Iraq and Syria. General Michael Erik Kurilla, CENTCOM’s commander, stated, “These strikes against leadership and operatives of ISIS and the Al Qaeda affiliate, Hurras al-Din, represent CENTCOM’s commitment to the enduring defeat of terrorist organizations in the CENTCOM area of responsibility and our support to regional stability.”
In recent months, anti-IS coalition forces have been targeted multiple times by drones and rocket fire in Iraq and Syria, particularly amid the rising violence linked to the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza. In response, US forces have executed several retaliatory strikes against militant factions in both countries. Notably, in August, US forces killed another Hurras al-Din leader, Abu Abdul Rahman al-Makki, in a strike in Syria.
