CENTCOM says 36 anti-ISIS operations launched in Syria, Iraq in August
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – US Central Command (CENTCOM) revealed on Friday it conducted 36 operations against Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria and Iraq in August.
The CENTCOM said, in a press release, they killed seven ISIS militants and arrested 25 others.
In Syria, the CENTCOM with the participation of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) carried out eight operations, in which an ISIS militant was killed and seven others were arrested.
In Iraq, the CENTCOM carried out 28 partnered operations, resulting in the killing of six ISIS militants and the arrest of 18 others.
“Our partnership with the Iraqi Security Force and Syrian Democratic Forces continues to be focused on the defeat of ISIS and the enduring threat they present,” said Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, CENTCOM commander.
In July, the CENTCOM announced the launching of 31 operations in both countries, killing five ISIS militants and arresting 30 others.
ISIS lost its final stronghold in Syria in March 2019. The SDF, with the support of the US-led Global Coalition, defeated ISIS after fierce battles in the town of Baghouz in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor, eastern Syria, bringing an end to the so-called caliphate declared by the terrorist ISIS.
After Baghouz, thousands of ISIS militants were transferred to prisons, while their families were transferred to Hawl and Roj camps in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES)-held areas.
The CENTCOM stressed the necessity of partnership with the SDF and Iraqi Security Forces in addressing challenges posed by ISIS within the region.
“Alongside our partners we remain committed to aggressively engaging with ISIS to provide security in both Iraq and Syria,” CENTCOM commander said.
The CENTCOM is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the US Department of Defense. It was founded in 1983, taking over the previous responsibilities of the Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force (RDJTF). In northeast Syria, the CENTCOM aims at continuing to develop and enable the SDF to defeat ISIS and requesting the nations repatriate their citizens of ISIS families from Hawl and Roj camps, northeast Syria.