US airstrike kills Daesh/ISIS leader in Syria: CENTCOM

By Rabia Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - The US on Friday said it has killed Daesh/ISIS terror group’s leader Abu Yusif in an airstrike in eastern Syria.

"On Dec. 19, U.S. Central Command Forces conducted a precision airstrike targeting ISIS leader Abu Yusif aka Mahmud in the Dayr az Zawr Province, Syria resulting in two ISIS operatives killed, including Abu Yusif," a CENTCOM said.

"This strike was conducted in an area formerly controlled by the Syrian regime and Russians," it added.

Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, the CENTCOM commander, said the US remains committed to preventing the terror group from taking advantage of instability in Syria to regroup or expand.

“As stated before, the United States — working with allies and partners in the region — will not allow ISIS to take advantage of the current situation in Syria and reconstitute,” Kurilla said.

“We will aggressively target these leaders and operatives, including those trying to conduct operations external to Syria,” he added.

The development came a day after the Pentagon announced that there are 2,000 US troops in Syria, more than double the number it had previously acknowledged.

Spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said that in addition to the 900 troops that were deployed to Syria on a longer-term basis to aid in counter-Daesh/ISIS operations, 1,100 others were sent on a "temporary" basis to help "meet shifting mission requirements" in the anti-Daesh/ISIS fight.