SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — American forces in the Middle East pounded central Syria Sunday in a massive round of strikes just a day after the country’s government crumbled.
U.S. Central Command said that its warplanes conducted “dozens” of airstrikes on more than 75 sites, including known “ISIS leaders, operatives and camps.” The attacks used B-52 bombers, F-15 fighters and A-10 Warthogs, which have already been flying over the country this month for other attacks.
“There should be no doubt - we will not allow ISIS to reconstitute and take advantage of the current situation in Syria,” Gen. Erik Kurilla, head of CENTCOM, wrote in a statement. “All organizations in Syria should know that we will hold them accountable if they partner with or support ISIS in any way.”
In all, around 140 munitions were used in what a separate senior U.S. administration official called a “significant strike” while speaking with reporters Sunday.
CENTCOM is still assessing the strike and said there were no reports yet of civilian casualties.
The barrage comes a day after Syria’s government fell in a dramatic end to the country’s decade-long civil war. The Assad regime had ruled the country for half a century, and its last ruler Bashar al-Assad had cruelly held down a rebellion for years — including the use of chemical weapons on his own people.
The Syrian civil war in part led to the emergence of ISIS in the 2010s and America’s military leading an international coalition to fight the terrorist group. There are now around 900 U.S. personnel in the country, and the international mission in the country is scheduled to wind down within two years.
Assad’s downfall came with his main supporters — Russia, Iran and the Lebanese militia group Hezbollah — all being weakened or distracted in the last year. When a rebel group began taking major cities across the country over the last two weeks, the government’s military collapsed.
According to Russian state media, Assad has since fled to Moscow.
American government and military officials watched the collapse near its climax over the weekend from California at the Reagan National Defense Forum. Of concern for lawmakers was the future of American forces in the country. President-elect Donald Trump tried to withdraw America’s military from Syria in his first administration and has said the U.S. shouldn’t get further involved in a social media post this weekend.
Speaking at the White House Sunday, President Joe Biden said the U.S. would maintain its positions in Syria — mainly located in the northeast across from the Euphrates River — and continue fighting ISIS.
While Biden said the weekend’s events were a rare opportunity to steady an otherwise war-torn country, the group that took power was once affiliated with al Qaeda and considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. government.
The senior official speaking earlier said America’s government is speaking with a broad range of Syrian groups to offer any help in forming a more peaceful government and monitoring, in particular, Assad’s former stocks of chemical weapons.
Noah Robertson is the Pentagon reporter at Defense News. He previously covered national security for the Christian Science Monitor. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English and government from the College of William & Mary in his hometown of Williamsburg, Virginia.
