U.S. Leadership Announces Death of ISIS Leader in Eastern Syria

The U.S. Central Command conducted a strike in Syria that resulted in the death of ISIS leader Abu Osama Al-Muhajir. General Michael Kurilla, the head of U.S. Central Command, confirmed in a statement his commitment to defeating ISIS throughout the region and noted that "there are no indications of civilian casualties in this strike," while the coalition is assessing reports of civilian injuries. He stated, "ISIS continues to pose a threat, not just to the region but beyond." He added, "This will disrupt and degrade the ability of ISIS to plan and execute terrorist attacks. However, we will continue operations against ISIS alongside partner forces in Iraq and Syria to achieve the lasting defeat of the group." The strike was carried out on Friday by MQ-9 drones, which earlier that day faced harassment from Russian fighter jets during an approximately two-hour encounter. Last year, Washington intensified airstrikes and operations against suspected ISIS members in Syria, killing and apprehending many of its leaders who had taken refuge in areas controlled by Turkish-backed opposition after the group lost the last of its territory in Syria in 2019. The U.S.-led campaign that killed former leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who declared himself a "caliph of Muslims," has since targeted the remainder of its leaders, many of whom are believed to have planned attacks abroad.