By Al-Fassel | 2024-10-02

US forces killed at least 37 "terrorist operatives" from the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) and al-Qaeda affiliate Hurras al-Deen in two separate strikes in northwest Syria, the US military said September 29.

Senior Hurras al-Deen leader Marwan Bassam Abd-al-Rauf was killed in a targeted strike, along with eight other terrorist operatives, in a September 24 strike in northwest Syria, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.

Abd-al-Rauf was responsible for overseeing the group's military operations from Syria.

A September 16 strike targeted a remote ISIS training camp in central Syria, killing at least 28 ISIS operatives, including at least four senior leaders, the statement said.

"The airstrike will disrupt ISIS's capability to conduct operations against US interests, as well as our allies and partners," it added.

"The airstrikes are part of CENTCOM's ongoing commitment, along with partners in the region, to disrupt and degrade efforts by terrorists to plan, organize and conduct attacks against civilians and military personnel from the US, our allies, and our partners throughout the region and beyond," it said.

In August, US forces killed another Hurras al-Deen leader, Abu Abdul Rahman al-Makki, in a "kinetic strike" in Syria's Idlib province.

US commitment to security

The US military has around 900 troops in Syria as part of the international coalition against ISIS, established in 2014 to help oust the group from Iraq and Syria.

At an international coalition ministerial meeting in Washington on September 30, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced $168 million of US funding for a security fund created to help Iraq and Syria.

The United States also will provide $148 million for border security and counter-terrorism operations in sub-Saharan Africa and Central Asia, to "strengthen our cooperation against ISIS branches outside of the Middle East," Blinken said.

In sub-Saharan Africa, ISIS affiliates have gained ground, "compounding the threat already present from existing militant groups," he said.

"It's more important than ever that we enhance our efforts to strengthen security and stability, including in Iraq and Syria, and prevent extremists like ISIS from exploiting the conflict in the region for their own benefit," he said.

The United States and Iraq recently announced the international coalition will end its decade-long military mission in Iraq by the end of September 2025.

The coalition will however continue to operate in Syria.

Another goal of the ministerial meeting was to address what to do with the relatives of ISIS fighters who live in Kurdish-run detention camps in Syria.