US forces say they have killed a high-ranking member of the terrorist militia “Islamic State” (IS) in Syria in an air strike. The US military’s responsible regional command, Centcom, reported this on Wednesday.
The man killed was Usamah Jamal Muhammad Ibrahim al-Janabi. Killing the man would weaken the terrorist militia, it said. There is no indication that any civilians were killed in the operation.
The US troops stationed in Syria are intended to prevent a resurgence of IS. They are deployed in areas controlled by the Kurdish militia YPG and its allies. Despite the military victory over the terrorist militia IS announced in 2019, its cells are still active in the country.
According to observers, the US is also trying to limit the influence of its arch-enemy Iran with its continued military presence in the region.
According to a defense official in Washington, there are still about 700 US soldiers in Syria. Their deployment has become more dangerous since the outbreak of the Gaza war. Pro-Iranian militias have repeatedly carried out attacks on the often small US military bases in the desert. As Israel’s most important ally, the US has become even more of an enemy for the Iranian-backed fighters in the region than before.
