U.S. Forces Conduct ‘Precision Airstrikes’ On ISIS Targets In Syria After Assad Regime Collapses

 In the hours after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime fell over the weekend, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces conducted “precision airstrikes targeting known ISIS camps and operatives” in central Syria on Sunday.

“The strikes against the ISIS leaders, operatives, and camps were conducted as part of the ongoing mission to disrupt, degrade, and defeat ISIS, in order to prevent the terrorist group from conducting external operations and to ensure that ISIS does not seek to take advantage of the current situation to reconstitute in central Syria,” CENTCOM said in a statement. “The operation struck over 75 targets using multiple U.S. Air Force assets, including B-52s, F-15s, and A-10s.”

CENTCOM said battle damage assessments were “underway” and noted that there were “no indications” of civilian casualties. CENTCOM also said it would “continue to carry out operations to degrade ISIS operational capabilities even during this dynamic period in Syria” together with U.S. “allies and partners” in the region.

 

“There should be no doubt — we will not allow ISIS to reconstitute and take advantage of the current situation in Syria,” said Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla. “All organizations in Syria should know that we will hold them accountable if they partner with or support ISIS in any way.”

Assad fled to Russia as rebel forces took over the capital of Damascus amid a sudden resurgence of fighting in Syria’s civil war that had stalled in recent years, The Daily Wire reported. Russia’s state media said Assad and his family made it to Moscow and were granted political asylum.

In public remarks, President Joe Biden announced that U.S. forces conducted “precision airstrikes” within Syria against ISIS, and pledged to help “ensure stability” in the country.

 

“We’re clear-eyed about the fact that ISIS will try to take advantage of any vacuum to re-establish its capabilities and to create a safe haven,” Biden said. “We will not let that happen.”

President-elect Donald Trump, who is slated to begin his second term in a little more than five weeks, declared in a post to X on Saturday that Syria is a “mess” and the United States should “NOT GET INVOLVED!”