US strike on ISIL targets in Syria leaves at least five dead
Illustrative photo: the US Army assisted the Jordanian Air Force (Getty Images)
At least five people were killed as a result of large-scale US strikes on infrastructure and weapons facilities belonging to the terrorist group ISIL in Syria, according to CBS News.
At the same time, the US Department of Defense did not specify the number of people killed during the operation in Syria.
The outlet recalls that on Friday, US forces struck several targets in Syria in response to an attack by a Syrian militant that nearly a week earlier resulted in the deaths of US service members and a civilian interpreter.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the airstrikes killed an ISIL cell leader and several of the group’s fighters.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) described the actions as a "large-scale strike." In a post on the social media platform X, it said that "more than 100 precision munitions targeting known ISIS infrastructure and weapons sites."
According to a US official cited by CBS News, more than 70 targets were hit. The operation involved F-15 and F-16 fighter jets, A-10 Thunderbolt II (Warthog) attack aircraft, as well as Apache attack helicopters. Part of the aircraft operated from Jordanian territory.
On Saturday, Jordan confirmed that its air force had taken part in "precise airstrikes targeting several ISIS positions in southern Syria."
CENTCOM stressed that the goal of the operation was "to prevent extremist groups from exploiting these areas as launching pads to threaten the security of Syria's neighbors and the wider region, especially after ISIS regrouped and rebuilt its capabilities in southern Syria."
On December 13, an ISIL militant ambushed and killed two US soldiers and one civilian interpreter in Syria. US President Donald Trump later vowed to deliver a serious retaliatory strike.
