US Killing ‘Fighters’ Around Stalled ISIS Convoy

Pentagon Officials Say 85 ISIS Killed in Attacks Around the Area

10 days after a ceasefire deal was reached on the Lebanon border, the evacuation convoy full of ISIS fighters and civilians is still stuck in the desert. The US policy of attacking anybody who gets out of the buses to go pee has continued apace.

From what was believed to be around 300 ISIS fighters originally on the buses, along with 350+ civilians, the US claims to have killed at least 85 “ISIS fighters” in strikes around the area. It’s not clear how many are left on the buses.

The US toll includes both people who went out to pee and people who drove vehicles too close to the stranded convoy, which the US interpreted as ISIS fighters coming to help. There were also reports before that a large number of ISIS fighters managed to escape the convoy and reach ISIS territory.

US spokesman Col. Ryan Dillon says the US has proposed a settlement of the convoy issue with Russia. The proposal would allow civilians to leave the buses safely, though the US insists all ISIS fighters be killed. Russia was not a party to the original deal, and doesn’t appear to have taken the proposal as a chance to get involved.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.