US Military Conducts More Airstrikes to Prevent Islamic State from Making Gains Amid Syria Turmoil

The U.S. military said it killed 12 militants from the Islamic State terrorist group with precision airstrikes Monday, defense officials announced, the second round of attacks against the group since the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad's government earlier this month.

While the campaign to quell the Islamic State has been ongoing for years, the military says the recent strikes have been aimed at preventing it from taking advantage of the instability in Syria as regional powers look to fill the power vacuum left by the Assad regime.

U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, said in a statement Monday that the "strikes against the ISIS leaders, operatives, and camps" are part of that yearslong effort, but also meant to stop "the terrorist group from conducting external operations" and to ensure it "does not seek opportunities to reconstitute in central Syria."

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"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, head of the command, said in the statement, using a common acronym for the group.

The statement said that damage in the aftermath of the strikes was still being assessed as of Monday, but officials had found no indications that civilians had been harmed. The strikes took place in areas previously controlled by the former Assad regime and Russia, "ensuring pressure is maintained on ISIS," it added.

Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters Monday that the strikes were meant to prevent Islamic State militants from moving west into cities and "potentially become something that is going to be much more difficult to deal with."

Following an offensive by rebel groups, the Assad regime -- which had ruled Syria for decades, including through a civil war that started in 2011 -- toppled on Dec. 8. Assad fled to Moscow, Russian state media reported, and now Syria is facing the question of how to rebuild.

The Islamic State, which has been significantly weakened by U.S. forces and regional allies since its height nearly a decade ago, is one of several groups vying for power in Syria.

Immediately after the Assad regime fell, U.S. Central Command targeted roughly 75 Islamic State targets in Syria using B-52 Stratofortress bombers and F-15E Strike Eagle and A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft -- the first known strike that occurred in the wake of the fall of Assad.

When asked Tuesday whether the U.S. military can continue to pursue the anti-Islamic State mission and if force protection measures for troops there are adequate, Ryder said, "Yes, they are able to conduct their mission, and of course, as it has always been, force protection remains a top priority for our forces in Syria."

There are about 900 U.S. troops stationed in eastern Syria. Ryder said there are no planned announcements about increasing that number.

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