Syria: US airstrikes kill 37 Islamist militants

Thirty-seven Islamist militants affiliated with the extremist "Islamic State" (IS) group and an al-Qaida affiliate called Hurras al-Din were killed in two airstrikes in Syria this month, the US military said Sunday.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement posted on X that the strikes took place on September 16 and September 24, adding that there was no indication that any civilians were harmed.

The September 24 strike killed nine "terrorist operatives," including a senior Hurras al-Din leader in northwestern Syria. The U.S. military said he was responsible for overseeing military operations.

And on September 16, a "large-scale airstrike" was conducted on an IS training camp in a remote, undisclosed location in central Syria. It killed at least 28 militants, including at least four senior leaders.

"The airstrike will disrupt ISIS' capability to conduct operations against US interests, as well as our allies and partners," the statement read. ISIS is another acronym to denote the  "Islamic State" group.

What are the US military's goals in Syria?

There are about 900 US troops in Syria, along with an undisclosed number of contractors.

Their main mission is to prevent a comeback by the extremist IS group. The group swept through Iraq and Syria in 2014, taking control of large swaths of territory.

US forces are advising and assisting their main allies in northeastern Syria, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

They are not far from strategic areas where Iranian-backed militant groups are present, including a key border crossing with Iraq.

dh/wd (AP, AFP, Reuters)