The United States recently carried out two airstrikes in Syria, killing a total of 37 terrorists from both ISIS and Hurras al-Din, an affiliate of al Qaeda, announced on Sunday by US Central Command (CENTCOM. The first strike took place on Tuesday, targeting the senior Hurras al-Din official, Marwan Bassam, who was responsible for overseeing the terror group’s operations in Syria. Along with Bassam, eight other operatives of the terrorist cell were killed in this airstrike. CENTCOM described this group as having “global aspirations to conduct attacks against US and Western interests.
A week prior to this attack, CENTCOM conducted a large-scale airstrike on an isolated ISIS training camp located in central Syria. This strike resulted in the deaths of 28 terrorists. Among those killed were at least four senior leaders, with no civilian casualties reported from either of these strikes, according to the military.
In response to these attacks against the Syrian-based terrorist groups, CENTCOM commander Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla stated that “These strikes against leadership and operatives of ISIS and the al Qaeda affiliate, Hurras al-Din, represent CENTCOM’s commitment to the enduring defeat of terrorist organizations in the CENTCOM area of responsibility and our support to regional stability.
In addition to focusing on these Syrian-based terror groups, CENTCOM officials are also concentrating their efforts on protecting US and commercial ships that have been targeted by the Iran-backed Houthi terror group as they traverse the Red Sea. During the attack that killed Bassam, CENTCOM deployed an interceptor missile which successfully neutralized a Houthi drone targeting a ship in the Red Sea, according to officials.
The Houthi terror group has vowed to continue attacking ships in the region in solidarity with Hamas, while the ongoing war in Gaza and conflict in Lebanon threaten to escalate into an all-out war in the region. The tense situation has led the US to send additional troops to the Middle East and call for all Americans currently in Lebanon to leave the country immediately.
