US attacks on ISIS elements in Syria have been almost daily (Image: Getty )
Islamic State (ISIS) sympathising extremists are so rife in Syria right now that the United States are hitting targets « kind of daily », according to a senior American source. The US military Central Command (CENTCOM), which operates in the Middle Eastern sphere, has carried out more than 100 strikes against jihadists in Syria since December, when two US service members and an American interpreter were killed in an ISIS ambush near the historic site of Palmyra.
In a statement, CENTCOM said it had conducted 10 strikes against more than 30 ISIS targets between February 3 and 12, adding to five previous strikes against an ISIS communication site, critical logistics node, and weapons storage facilities between January 27 and February 2.
The Americans also announced they had successfully moved 5,700 adult male ISIS fighters from detention facilities in Syria to Iraqi custody.
CENTCOM spokesman Captain Tim Hawkins told the Daily Express: « We will continue to apply relentless military pressure on ISIS to prevent its resurgence and ensure its enduring defeat. That is our focus for Syria while continuing to work with Syrian partners on the ground. »
Asked how often the attacks were needed, Captain Hawkins said it was « kind of like daily », but added, « If we see something, we hit it.
« These are remnants, they’re not all gathered, they don’t have territory. But you know, if they create another storage area, then we take it out. If we learn from our partners on the ground, and more information comes to light, then you can identify and go after additional targets
« More than a hundred targets struck with more than 350 precision munitions, and more than 50 ISIS operatives captured or killed in the last two months alone.
« It’s relentless. It’s the application of relentless military pressure. That’s what that looks like. »
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ISIS elements are still apparently thriving inside Syria (Image: Getty )
Washington has sought to normalise relations with the new Syrian interim government led by former al-Qaeda fighter-turned-politician, President Ahmed al-Sharaa. Al-Sharaa, who seized power in December 2024, is part of the conservative Muslim Arab majority in the country and his government has faced accusations of ethnic and religiously motivated attacks on Druze, Alawite, Christian and Kurdish minority populations since he took control.
The Daily Express has previously reported militias affiliated to Al-Sharaa’s regime in the capital Damascus have been seen wearing symbols linked to ISIS, an organisation that ruled a brutal Islamic caliphate in large parts of Syria from 2014 until 2019 when it was defeated by the US-led coalition. Thousands of jihadist fighters and their families were rounded up after the war and held prisoner in camps guarded by the Kurdish-led Syrian Defence Force (SDF) in the semi-autonomous north east of the country.
But now the US has sought to ally itself with Damascus politically and called for the SDF to integrate with the Syria Government. Violent fighting broke out in January when Al-Sharaa’s forces launched an offensive against the Kurds and seized several large ISIS detention centres. A tenuous peace has now been agreed after SDF leader Mazloum Abdi met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani on the sidelines of the security conference in Munich on Friday.
CENTCOM spokesman Captain Tim Hawkins (Image: Getty )
Captain Hawkins addressed reports about Damascus-affiliated militias and forces setting free ISIS prisoners from camps they took control of from the SDF in fierce fighting in January, most notably al-Hol camp and Shaddadi prison.
He said: « We estimate 130 ISIS fighters escaped after the SDF left their post at Shaddadi, and they were not what I describe as the worst-of-the-worst, who we consider the ISIS operative fighters who we consider were trying to ferment violence across the region and inspire attacks in the United States. We had already moved those folks out.
« Now, we were very concerned when we saw that (prisoners escaping) because if you replicate that across northeast Syria, then there definitely would have been a problem.
« At places where we actually did have the worst of the worst and the most dangerous, we made sure (the escapes) did not happen, itt didn’t happen at al-Hol either.
« That’s why we immediately launched the mission to move the most dangerous out. »
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