The US Central Command said Sunday it carried out a drone strike on July 7 that killed an ISIS leader in eastern Syria.
The US used the same MQ-9 drones in the attack that “earlier in the day had been harassed by Russian aircraft in an encounter that had lasted nearly two hours,” it said in a statement.
“The US Central Command carried out an attack in Syria that resulted in the death of Usamah al-Muhajir, an ISIS leader in eastern Syria,” he said without elaborating on al-Muhajir. In the past year, Washington has intensified raids and operations against suspected ISIS operatives in Syria, killing and arresting several of its leaders who had taken refuge in areas under Turkish-backed rebel control after the group lost its last territory in Syria in 2019.
The US-led campaign that killed former ISIS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, who had declared himself the “caliph of all Muslims”, has since focused on its surviving leaders, many of whom are believed to have they planned attacks abroad.
However, US military commanders say ISIS remains a significant threat within the region, even though its capabilities have degraded and its ability to re-establish its network has weakened.
Islamic State controlled a third of Iraq and Syria at its height in 2014. Although defeated in both countries, its militants continue to carry out insurgent attacks.
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