US Says It Killed ISIS Leader in Eastern Syria
According to the United States Military, a Drone strike in eastern Syria killed an Islamic State senior leader.
According to a statement released by the U.S. Central Command on Sunday, Osama al-Muhajer was killed in the strike on Friday.
The statement said that it deployed the same MQ-9 drones that had “earlier in the day been harassed by Russian aircraft in an encounter that had lasted almost two hours” in the attack, Reuters reported.
“U.S. Central Command conducted a strike in Syria that resulted in the death of Usamah al-Muhajir, an ISIS leader in eastern Syria,” it said without giving any more details on al-Muhajir.
“We have made it clear that we remain committed to the defeat of ISIS throughout the region,” U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) chief General Michael Kurilla said, using another acronym for the ISIL armed group.
“ISIS remains a threat, not only to the region but well beyond,” he added.
According to CENTCOM, no civilians were killed in the operation, but coalition forces are “assessing reports of a civilian injury”.
Following the killing of former ISIS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, the U.S.-led assault has targeted the group’s surviving commanders, many of whom are believed to have plotted strikes abroad.
U.S. military commanders say ISIS remains a significant threat within the region, though its capabilities have been degraded and its ability to re-establish its network weakened.
ISIS had a third of Iraq and Syria under its control at its peak in 2014. Its militants still carry out insurgent activities despite being defeated in both countries.
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