WASHINGTON: The US military announced on Wednesday that up to 35 Islamic State fighters were killed by American air strikes in Syria earlier this week.
It is the latest in a series of attacks on the fighters, who once controlled large areas of territory in both Iraq and Syria, carried out by US and local forces in recent months.
US Central Command (CENTCOM), an acronym for the IS group, stated on social media that “the strikes targeted multiple IS locations in the Syrian desert, targeting multiple senior leaders.”
CENTCOM stated that the strikes, which were carried out on October 28, did not appear to have any civilian casualties. It added, “The air strikes will prevent IS from planning, organizing, and carrying out attacks against civilians as well as US allies and partners in the region and beyond.”
US and Iraqi forces carried out a joint raid last week that, according to Baghdad, killed nine fighters, including the country’s top IS leader. On October 18, CENTCOM announced that Iraqi strikes had killed a senior IS leader and three other militants. CENTCOM also reported that a joint operation between US and Iraqi forces killed 14 IS fighters in the western desert of Iraq at the end of August, including four of the group’s leaders.
