US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement on Wednesday that its forces advised, assisted, and enabled more than 22 operations against the Islamic State (ISIS) with partners in Syria over the past month.
The operations diminished the terrorist group’s ability to conduct local operations and export violence around the world, said CENTCOM.
According to the statement, Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) conducted the operations in coordination with Syrian partners from Oct. 1 to Nov. 6, resulting in five ISIS members eliminated and 19 captured.
“Our success in countering the ISIS threat in Syria is a notable achievement,” said Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander. “We will continue to aggressively pursue ISIS remnants in Syria while working with the Global Coalition Against ISIS to ensure the gains made against the group in Iraq and Syria are lasting and ISIS is not able to regenerate or export terrorist attacks to other countries.”
ISIS overran large swathes of Syria and Iraq in 2014, proclaiming a "caliphate" in land it controlled.
Several military offensives, including ones backed by a US-led international coalition, have since seen ISIS lose most areas it once controlled, including the loss of their de facto capital in Raqqa, Syria.
However, ISIS sleeper cells remain in the area and continue to carry out deadly attacks in Syria and Iraq. The US deploys troops in Syria as part of its effort to defeat ISIS in the region.
The international coalition led by the US has eliminated numerous ISIS terrorists in air strikes in Syria and Iraq in recent years, including the group’s leader in eastern Syria, who was eliminated in a strike in July of 2023.
CENTCOM’s statement noted that earlier this week, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa announced that Syria joined the Global Coalition Against ISIS as its 90th member.