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The U.S. military said Tuesday that nearly 25 agents islamic state Group killed or captured Syria This month, an ambush killed two U.S. troops and a U.S. civilian translator.
U.S. Central Command, which oversees middle EastIn a statement, X said that following the initial strikes on Islamic State weapons sites and infrastructure on December 19, 11 missions were carried out in the past 10 days, hitting 70 targets in central Syria.
U.S. Central Command said that in subsequent operations, U.S. troops and other forces from the region, including Syria, killed at least seven “Islamic State” members, captured others, and cleared four weapons caches.
“We will not let up,” Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of the command, said in a statement. “We are deeply committed to working with regional partners to eradicate the threat ISIS poses to U.S. and regional security.”
A U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations, said targets ranged from senior Islamic State members who are closely monitored by the military to low-level infantry soldiers.
The official said growing cooperation between the United States and Syria’s relatively new government meant U.S. forces were able to attack the Islamic State group in areas of the country where it had not previously operated. The official added that the Syrian army was the driving force behind some operations this year against the militant group.
The official compared the two countries’ growing cooperation to the cooperation between the United States and Iraq a decade ago in the fight against the Islamic State and said that, like Iraq, the goal is to eventually hand over the effort entirely to the Syrians.
The latest operation followed a Dec. 13 ambush near the ancient city of Palmyra, where U.S. and Syrian security officials were meeting over lunch. Two Iowa National Guard members and a civilian translator from Michigan were killed, and three other members of the U.S. military and Syrian security forces were wounded.
Syrian officials said the slain gunman had joined Syria’s internal security forces as a base security guard and was recently reassigned amid suspicions he might have ties to the Islamic State.
The initial retaliatory strikes against Islamic State targets in Syria included fighter jets from Jordan, a major test of warming relations between the United States and Syria since the autocratic leader was toppled last year Bashar al-Assad.
president Donald Trump Syria’s new president, Ahmed Sharal, said he was “very angry and disturbed by this attack.”