U.S. forces in the Middle East conducted the second round of strikes in Syria in as many weeks, killing 12 enemy fighters Monday.
Central Command, which oversees the American military in the region, said the targets included “ISIS leaders, operatives and camps,” though it didn’t say how many of each were targeted or what weapons were used.
“Inasmuch as CENTCOM sees a potential threat posed by ISIS, and to mitigate their ability to be able to resurge, you’re going to see these strikes,” Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a Monday briefing.
Without specifying where the strikes occurred, Ryder said they were an attempt to keep fighters from the terrorist group from seeking shelter farther west, in urban areas that are much more difficult to target.
Earlier this month, just after the ruling Assad regime collapsed in Syria due to a stunning rebel offensive, CENTCOM pounded the country’s center, hitting 75 targets with a mix of military aircraft.
Those attacks, like these, occurred in parts of the country that were once controlled by the Assad government or Russian forces, now reportedly withdrawing.
CENTCOM said it was still assessing the impact of the latest strikes and hadn’t yet seen indications of civilian casualties.
Also on Monday, the U.S. targeted a “key command and control facility” being operated by the Houthis, a Yemeni militia group backed by Iran.
The site was in territory controlled by the Houthis in the capital of Sana’a, CENTCOM said, and “a hub for coordinating Houthi operations, such as attacks against U.S. Navy warships and merchant vessels in the Southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.”
Noah Robertson is the Pentagon reporter at Defense News. He previously covered national security for the Christian Science Monitor. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English and government from the College of William & Mary in his hometown of Williamsburg, Virginia.
