The US forces reported today that they killed “a leader” of the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS) in a bombardment carried out on the 7th in eastern Syria, the Central Command of the United States Armed Forces said in a statement. (CENTCOM).
According to the note, the killed IS leader was identified as Usama al-Muhajir, who was directing operations in eastern Syria, while CENTCOM noted that “there are no indications that any civilians have been killed in this attack.”
“We have left our commitment to defeating Islamic State throughout the region,” CENTCOM commander General Michael “Erik” Kurilla said in the statement.
The military also stressed that the jihadist group, territorially defeated in Syria in March 2019, “continues to be a threat, not only to the region (of the Middle East) but far beyond.”
Likewise, CENTCOM pointed out that the death of Al Muhajir “will interrupt and degrade the ability” of the IS to plan and carry out actions, while it indicated that both the US forces and their partners in Syria and Iraq will continue working to “achieve the lasting defeat of the cluster”.
According to the note, the bombardment that killed the IS leader was carried out with MQ-9 drones, unmanned aircraft that that same day had been “harassed by Russian planes” for two hours.
In a statement released yesterday, the United States denounced that Russian planes dropped parachute flares in front of the drones and flew “dangerously close” to them.
The jihadist formation was territorially defeated in Syria in March 2019, but it still maintains active cells in various parts of the country, especially in the vast central Badia desert.
Washington leads an international coalition to fight against the terrorist group in Iraq and Syria, although it frequently launches unilateral operations against high- and mid-range jihadist targets.
