US Central Command said in a press release on Monday that its forces were involved in 95 operations against ISIS in Iraq and Syria since August 29.
Some of the operations were conducted with Iraqi government forces in Iraq and Kurdish-led forces in Syria. The US also conducted several rounds of unilateral airstrikes in Syria.
CENTCOM claimed the operations killed a total of 163 “terrorists” and the capture of 33 more. “These successful operations resulted in the seizure of significant enemy material that could aid in future disruptions,” the command said.
There have been US casualties in the operations as well, although no US troops have been killed. In October, two US military personnel were wounded in a raid in Iraq. On August 29, seven Americans were hurt in an attack on ISIS hideouts in Iraq.
Many of the nearly 100 US military operations came after Vice President Kamala Harris falsely claimed in a debate with former President Donald Trump that no US troops are deployed in combat zones.
The US continues to be involved in military operations against ISIS in Iraq and Syria even though both governments don’t want the help. In Syria, the government in Damascus opposes the US military presence in the country, making it an illegal military occupation.
In Iraq, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has repeatedly stated that government forces could handle ISIS remnants in the country without the US-led anti-ISIS coalition. The US and Iraq have agreed to end the coalition’s mission by September 2025, but US troops will remain under a bilateral arrangement.
ISIS holds no significant territory in Iraq and Syria, but there’s been an uptick in ISIS attacks this year as the group has benefited from the regional destabilization caused by Israel’s US-backed onslaught in Gaza.
