Anti-ISIS coalition member killed and two wounded in operations in Iraq and Syria

US says it sent A-10 ground attack jets to hit ISIS base in mountain cave

US soldiers in northern Iraq in 2020. AFP

An anti-ISIS coalition soldier was killed and two wounded during operations against ISIS in Iraq and Syria over the past week, the US military said on Monday. US Central Command said in a statement that US and Iraqi troops conducted strikes against known ISIS sites in the Hamrin Mountains of Iraq.

“The operations served to disrupt and degrade ISIS's ability to plan, organise and conduct attacks against civilians in the region, as well as US citizens, allies and partners throughout the region and beyond,” Centcom said. “During the operations, ISIS fighters engaged coalition forces on several occasions, resulting in the employment of coalition air strikes.”

A-10 ground attack planes, as well as F-16s and F-15s, were used in the attacks.

Centcom reported that ISIS fighters were “eliminated” in a mountain cave, without saying how many. It did not give the nationality of the coalition casualties but said they were not American.

Syria has been in upheaval after a rebel takeover led to the fall of Bashar Al Assad's regime. Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein had warned in December that ISIS was reorganising its ranks in Syria, and Kurdish forces in the north-east increased security at prisons holding ISIS captives.

Centcom launched dozens of strikes on ISIS targets in the country to prevent the extremists from taking advantage of the transition period. The US had also more than doubled its troop presence in Syria.

Centcom on Monday also reported that US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces held an operation with US forces against ISIS near Deir Ezzor in Syria, “resulting in the capture of an ISIS attack cell leader” in the first days of January.

“Partnered operations like these are critical to maintaining pressure on ISIS and preventing the terrorist group from taking advantage of the rapidly changing security environment in the region,” Centcom commander Gen Michael Kurilla said in the statement.