American forces killed more than three dozen members of terrorist groups in Syria in two airstrikes this past month. One took out the top military commander for Hurras al-Din, an al-Qaeda-linked group active inside the country. The strikes, announced by U.S. Central Command early Sunday, Sept. 29, are the latest in a series of recent raids and airstrikes targeting high-level commanders of ISIS and other groups in Iraq and Syria the last two months.
On Tuesday, Sept. 24, an airstrike in northwest Syria killed Marwan Bassam ‘Abd-al-Ra’uf, identified by CENTCOM as the military commander for Hurras al-Din in Syria. Eight other members of the group were killed in the attack. CENTCOM did not share any additional details on what weapons or how many forces were involved in the targeted strike.
The group, a Salafist militant organization formed out of several different factions during the ongoing Syrian Civil War, has ties to al-Qaeda, but is not part of it. A month earlier in late August, American forces killed Abu-’Abd al-Rahman al-Makki, a member of the governing council for Hurras al-Din’s governing council, in a targeted strike inside Syria.
Additionally, CENTCOM announced a previously undisclosed airstrike on Sept. 16 in central Syria.The operation, described as a “large-scale” strike, targeted a training camp and killed at least 28 ISIS fighters, “including at least four senior leaders.” None were identified by CENTCOM.
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“These strikes against leadership and operatives of ISIS and the Al Qaeda affiliate, Hurras al-Din, represent CENTCOM’s commitment to the enduring defeat of terrorist organizations in the CENTCOM area of responsibility and our support to regional stability,” CENTCOM commander Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, said in a released statement.
ISIS has been stepping up its attacks against civilians and military targets this year, and U.S. officials have said the group is trying to reconstitute itself, despite having lost its territory and coming under frequent attacks. The United States in turn, with its partners in the Iraqi security forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces, have been carrying out a series of operations in Iraq and Syria in the last two months, killing multiple members of ISIS including commanders, as well as seizing intelligence.
Beyond major bases in the region overall, the United States has roughly 900 troops inside Syria at multiple outposts, including al-Tanf in the southeast near the Iraqi border and on the eastern edges of the city of Deir Ez-Zor in eastern Syria.