US carries out 'massive' strike against IS in Syria

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• Lots of them.
• And we will continue," the US defence secretary added. Meanwhile, the US Central Command (Centcom) said that "US forces have commenced a large-scale strike" against IS, adding that more information would be provided soon. Posting on Truth Social later on, President Trump said the US "is inflicting very serious retaliation, just as I promised, on the murderous terrorists responsible". He said the Syrian government was "fully in support". Meanwhile, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OBHR) said IS positions near the cities of Raqqa and Deir ez Zor were targeted. It said that a prominent IS leader and a number of fighters were killed. IS has not publicly commented.
• The BBC was unable to verify the targets immediately. Centcom, which directs American military operations in Europe, Africa and the Indo-Pacific, earlier said that the deadly attack in Palmyra was carried out by an IS gunman, who was "engaged and killed". Another three US soldiers were injured in the ambush, with a Pentagon official saying that it happened "in an area where the Syrian president does not have control."At the same time, the SOHR said the attacker was a member of the Syrian security forces. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, and the identity of the gunman has not been released. In 2019, a US-backed alliance of Syrian fighters announced IS had lost the last pocket of territory in Syria it controlled, but since then the jihadist group has carried out some attacks. The United Nations says the group still has between 5,000 and 7,000 fighters in Syria and Iraq. US troops have maintained a presence in Syria since 2015 to help train other forces as part of a campaign against IS. Middle EastUnited StatesIslamic State groupSyria.