Washington: Air strikes by the US-led military coalition fighting Daesh killed as many as 150 militants in one of their few remaining Syrian strongholds on January 20, according to the coalition.
“Precision strikes” targeted the terrorists near the town of As Shafah in Syria’s Middle Euphrates River Valley on January 20, the coalition said in a statement. The location served as a Daesh headquarters and command and control centre and the militants appeared to have been “massing for movement,” according to the statement.
While the US insists the extremist group has lost nearly all of its physical caliphate, the Pentagon and State Department have signalled that American troops will remain in Syria indefinitely to thwart militants from Daesh and Al Qaida and stem Iran’s influence.
The latest bombings were the result of extensive intelligence-gathering, including help from allied Syrian Democratic Forces in “target observation” before the strikes, according to the statement.
The killings “underscore our assertion that the fight to liberate Syria is far from over”, Major-General James Jarrard, commanding general of Special Operations Joint Task Force for ‘Operation Inherent Resolve’, said in the statement.
