US airstrikes in Syria kill 37 terror operatives affiliated with ISIS and al-Qaeda-linked group

In Syria, 37 terror operatives affiliated to the jihadist Islamic State group and an al-Qaeda-linked group were killed in two strikes, the United States military says.

Two of the dead were senior leaders in terror groups, it says.

US Central Command says it struck northwestern Syria on Tuesday, targeting a senior member from the al-Qaeda-linked Hurras al-Deen group and eight others. They say he was responsible for overseeing military operations.

They also announce a strike from Sept. 16, in which they conducted a “large-scale airstrike” on an ISIS training camp in a remote undisclosed location in central Syria. That attack killed 28 militants, including “at least four Syrian leaders.”

“The airstrike will disrupt ISIS’ capability to conduct operations against US interests, as well as our allies and partners,” the statement reads.

There are some 900 US forces in Syria, along with an undisclosed number of contractors, mostly trying to prevent any comeback by ISIS, which swept through Iraq and Syria in 2014, taking control of large swaths of territory.

US forces advise and assist their key allies in northeastern Syria, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, located not far from strategic areas where Iran-backed terror groups are present, including a key border crossing with Iraq.