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The United States Central Command (CENTCOM)-led coalition and its partners conducted 43 operations against ISIS in Iraq and Syria during last January, the command announced on February 2.
In a press release, CENTCOM said that the operations degraded ISIS capabilities in both countries and removed multiple senior commanders of the terrorist group from the battlefield, including the Emir [governor] of Raqqa and a Syrian media and security operative.
“While our efforts have degraded ISIS, the group’s vile ideology remains uncontained and unconstrained,” said General Michael “Erik” Kurilla, commander of CENTCOM. “ISIS continues to represent a threat to not only Iraq and Syria, but to the stability and security of the region. Therefore, we must continue the fight against ISIS alongside our partners.”
In Iraq, the U.S.-led coalition carried out 33 partnered operations in January, during which it detained 29 operatives of ISIS and killed nine others. During the same period, the coalition carried out 10 partnered operations in Syria, detaining 198 operatives of the terrorist group and killing two.
According to the CENTCOM, no U.S. forces were wounded or killed during these operations. The command didn’t clarify if there were any civilian casualties.
The coalition operates in Iraq under an official agreement with the government and cooperates with the Iraqi military and security forces. Still, many oppose its presence. The situation is different in Syria, where the coalition occupy’s vast parts of the northern and eastern region, including several oil and gas fields, without an authorization from the legitimate government and operates with a proxy, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
“We rely heavily on the SDF for the fight against ISIS,” Kurilla said. “Meanwhile, our Iraqi Security Forces have been aggressively taking the fight to ISIS in Iraq.”
CENTCOM noted that moving forward, it will publish on the second day of each month an accounting of operations against ISIS from the previous month. This was the first press release in that effort, which is apparently meant to justify long-term U.S. military presence in both Iraq and Syria.
Why would the U.S. military be fighting an ally it has in Ukraine?
Such reports need to be able to be verified by all parties, including those that the US is not friendly with.
Why is the US killing their proxy forces? Are ISIS going rogue? Is it because the US are constantly creating coups over ISIS leadership, in order to get leadership over ISIS whom they can better control, ie puppet leaders?