U.S. Airstrikes Kill 37 Islamic State and Al-Qaeda Terrorists in Syria

The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Sunday that two targeted airstrikes in Syria eliminated 37 terrorists aligned with the Islamic State and al-Qaeda, including several senior leaders.

CENTCOM revealed the first of the previously undisclosed airstrikes was conducted on September 16 on a “remote ISIS training camp in central Syria.” At least 28 ISIS operatives were killed, including four “senior leaders.”

“The airstrike will disrupt ISIS’ capability to conduct operations against U.S. interests, as well as our allies and partners,” CENTCOM said.

On September 24, a second targeted strike in northwestern Syria killed “nine terrorist operatives” of a group called Hurras al-Din, including a senior leader called Marwan Bassam.

“Hurras al-Din is an al-Qaeda-affiliated organization based in Syria with global aspirations to conduct attacks against U.S. and Western interests,” CENTCOM explained.

Hurras al-Din is the successor to the infamous Nusrah Front as the leading al-Qaeda franchise in Syria. The Nusrah Front broke away from al-Qaeda’s control in 2018, absorbing several smaller Syrian rebel militias that were reluctant to join al-Qaeda and renaming itself Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). 

Hardcore al-Qaeda loyalists in the Nusrah Front created a new group called Hurras al-Din, which found itself struggling to survive against Western counter-terrorist operations, the Syrian government, and HTS, which decided to eliminate any threat posed by its former Nusrah Front comrades. HTS and Hurras al-Din members have been known to abduct and kill each other over the past six years as they struggle for influence and resources.

In August, the U.S. military eliminated Hurras al-Din leader Abu-Abd al-Rahman al-Makki with a “targeted kinetic strike” in Syria. Al-Makki was the operational commander of the group’s terrorist activities in Syria.

CENTCOM’s statement on Sunday said there was “no indication any civilians were harmed” in either the September 16 or September 24 strikes.