ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) announced late Sunday that it carried out a joint operation with Syria’s interior ministry forces in southern Syria last week, targeting the Islamic State (ISIS).
CENTCOM, which oversees US troops in the Middle East, said in a statement that the forces “located and destroyed more than 15 sites containing ISIS weapons caches in southern Syria, Nov. 24-27.”
The operation took place in Riq Dimashq, aimed at “eliminating the ISIS weapons storage facilities.”
“The combined operation destroyed over 130 mortars and rockets, multiple assault rifles, machine guns, anti-tank mines, and materials for building improvised explosive devices. Forces also discovered and destroyed illicit drugs,” added the US army.
CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper was cited in the statement as deeming the operation “successful,” adding that it “ensures gains made against ISIS are lasting and the group is not able to regenerate or export terrorist attacks to the U.S. homeland and around the world.”
The rare joint operation between Washington and Damascus is first of its kind since Syria officially joined the US-led global coalition against ISIS last month. The accession to the coalition came after a landmark meeting between Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and US President Donald Trump at the White House - a first for any leader from post-independence Syria.
ISIS controlled swathes of Syrian and Iraqi territories in 2014 but it was territorially defeated in Syria by Kurdish forces with the support of the coalition in 2019, two years after its defeat in Iraq, but the group has recently sought to regain ground.
“We will remain vigilant and continue to aggressively pursue ISIS remnants in Syria,” Cooper added.