US and Syrian forces killed or captured nearly 25 ISIS fighters in late December in the wake of massive airstrikes against the terror group, the American military said on Tuesday.
US Central Command, which oversees Middle East operations, said its forces carried out 11 missions against the Islamic State with partner forces in Syria from December 20 to 29, killing and capturing some two dozen fighters and destroying four weapons caches.
The US has been ramping up its operations against ISIS after a gunman killed two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter and wounded three soldiers in Syria on December 13. President Donald Trump vowed retaliation in the aftermath.
Immediately following that ambush, US and partner forces carried out 10 operations in Syria and Iraq that left 23 Islamic State fighters dead or detained, according to Centcom.
On December 19, US officials announced the start of “Operation Hawkeye Strike.” American forces, supported by the Jordanian military, bombed more than 70 ISIS targets across Syria with over 100 precision munitions launched from fighter jets, attack helicopters, and artillery pieces.
Specifically, the US assets involved in those strikes included F-15E fighter jets, AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, KC-135 Stratotanker refueling aircraft, and M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers.
The US military said that the airstrikes pummeled ISIS infrastructure and weapons sites. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wrote in a social media post that “lots” of fighters were killed and more would be hunted down.
“This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance,” he said on December 19.
The US military has been present in Syria for over a decade, routinely working with partner forces to fight ISIS since 2014. While the exact numbers have shifted over the years, there are roughly 900 American troops posted at various bases throughout the country.
This past year, the Islamic State inspired at least 11 terror plots or attacks against targets in the US, Centcom said, reporting on Tuesday that American and Syrian partner forces have killed or captured more than 320 fighters in counterterrorism operations over the past 12 months.
Adm. Brad Cooper, the Centcom commander, said in a statement on Tuesday that the US remains committed to working with partners to curb the threat posed by ISIS.
“Continuing to hunt down terrorist operatives, eliminate ISIS networks, and work with partners to prevent an ISIS resurgence makes America, the region, and the world safer,” he said.
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