US military conducts airstrikes against ISIS camps in Syria amid multi-pronged Middle East conflict

The US military said it had conducted a series of airstrikes against multiple camps in Syria belonging to the Islamic State group on Friday. Battle damage assessments remain underway and officials have confirmed that there were no civilian casualties.

“US Central Command forces conducted a series of airstrikes against multiple known ISIS camps in Syria in the early morning of October 11. The strikes will disrupt the ability of ISIS to plan, organize, and conduct attacks against the United States, its allies and partners, and civilians throughout the region and beyond. Our battle damage assessments are underway and do not indicate civilian casualties. We will provide updates as information is confirmed,” read an official update.

There are some 900 US forces in Syria, along with an undisclosed number of contractors, mostly trying to prevent any comeback by the extremist group, Islamic State had swept through Iraq and Syria in 2014 — taking control of large swathes of territory.

The Islamic State group seized territory at the height of its power and declared a caliphate in large parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014. The group ruled an area half the size of the United Kingdom at its peak and enforced its extreme interpretation of Islam — which included attacks on religious minority groups and harsh punishment of Muslims deemed to be apostates. IS was defeated in Iraq in 2017 and lost the last sliver of land they once controlled in eastern Syria in March 2019.

The development comes amid growing concerns about a wider Middle East war as Israel wages a multi-pronged war in several neighbouring areas. The Gaza war hit the one-year-mark on October 7 while Lebanon has been pounded by airstrikes in recent weeks. Iran and Israel have also exchanged fire and Tehran remains braced for a retaliatory attack. The attack against ISIS also comes mere weeks after the Iraqi military said that it had killed a senior IS commander who was wanted by the United States, as well as several other prominent militants.

(With inputs from agencies)