US strikes ISIS targets in Syria for second time in a week

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The United States military carried out precision airstrikes in Syria on Monday against 12 suspected Islamic State (ISIS) militants as part of an effort to prevent the jihadist group from reconstituting in the country.

The military action was the second U.S. strike since Dec, 8, when a rebel alliance took over the capital of Damascus and drove out the Assad regime that had ruled the country for half a century.

Last week, the U.S. Air Force carried out a strike in Syria using multiple aircraft, including B-52 bombers, F-15 fighter jets and A-10 attack jets in areas that were previously off-limits to U.S. aircraft.

“The strikes against the ISIS leaders, operatives, and camps were conducted as part of the ongoing mission to disrupt, degrade and defeat ISIS,” U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement on Monday.

Since the fall of Damascus, ISIS cells have sought to take advantage of the chaotic vacuum in Syria by carrying out hit-and-run attacks and gaining territories in the desert.

While the Pentagon didn't reveal the location of the strikes, they said they were in areas controlled by the former Syrian government and Russian forces. The U.S. has at least 900 service members and other contractors operating in Syria, as well as 2,500 in Iraq as part of an international coalition against the jihadists.

U.S. President Joe Biden said the United States will not get involved in Syria’s war but Washington will also not allow the Iranian proxies and remnants of al-Qaeda to rebuild forces.

“CENTCOM, working with allies and partners in the region, will not allow ISIS to reconstitute and take advantage of the current situation in Syria,” Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla said.

The U.S. is also seeking to prevent the SDF-controlled Al Hol camp, which holds thousands of Islamic State prisoners and displaced women and children, from being overtaken.

“Al Hol presents a significant security concern in the sense that were ISIS able to affect some type of breakout of any detention facility, that would be a significant setback and something that would be very concerning,” Pentagon Press Secretary, Air Force Maj.-Gen. Patrick S. Ryder stated.

“Our hope would be that it won’t.”