US kills senior IS leader in Syria

The US said it had killed a senior IS leader in Syria after an airstrike using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

An airstrike on July 7 killed Osama al-Muhajer, the leader of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) organization in eastern Syria, the US military's Central Command (CENTCOM) announced today.

“We have made it clear that we remain committed to defeating ISIS across the region,” said CENTCOM chief Michael Kurilla. “ISIS remains a threat, not just to the region but beyond.”

US soldiers patrol in Hasakah province, northeastern Syria, in February 2021. Photo: AFP — US soldiers patrol in Hasakah province, northeastern Syria, in February 2021. Photo: *AFP*

According to CENTCOM, no civilians were killed in the operation but coalition forces are "assessing reports of civilian casualties".

CENTCOM said the attack was “conducted by an MQ-9 Reaper UAV, which had been intercepted by Russian aircraft in a nearly two-hour-long encounter earlier.” Russia is a key ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

According to the US military, its UAVs participating in the campaign against IS in Syria were harassed by Russian military aircraft on July 6, the second time in 24 hours. Air Force Lieutenant General Alexus Grynkewich said the Russian fighter jets "dropped flares in front of the UAVs and flew dangerously close, putting all aircraft involved at risk."

IS has lost much of the territory it once controlled in Syria and Iraq and has yet to regain any of the momentum it enjoyed at its peak in mid-2014, when the militant group wreaked havoc across the Middle East.

Since losing its last stronghold in eastern Syria in March 2019, IS remnants have retreated into the desert, occasionally launching raids against Kurdish forces and the Syrian government. Most of the attacks have been small-scale, targeting military targets and oil facilities in remote areas. But many remain concerned about the risk of IS resurgence.

A UN report in February said IS had an estimated 5,000-7,000 members and supporters spread across Syria and Iraq, nearly half of whom were fighters. The threat posed by IS and its affiliates to international peace and security is expected to be very high in the second half of 2022.

Late last year, IS announced that it had appointed Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Quraishi as its supreme leader, after the previous leader was killed in southern Syria.

Vu Hoang (According to AFP )

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