US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a press release on Thursday that it was involved in 37 operations against ISIS in Iraq and Syria during the month of June.
The command said all of the operations were conducted with US partners, the Kurdish-led SDF in Syria, and the Baghdad-based government in Iraq. CENTCOM claimed 13 ISIS “operatives” were killed.
In Iraq, CENTCOM was involved in 30 operations where 12 alleged ISIS operatives were killed. Seven operations were conducted in Syria, where one alleged ISIS operative was killed.
CENTCOM did not offer an assessment of potential harm to civilians in the operations, and the Pentagon is notorious for undercounting civilian casualties. For example, CENTCOM claimed a drone strike it launched in northwest Syria on May 3 killed a “senior al-Qaeda leader.” But it soon became clear a civilian was killed in the strike, and it was revealed CENTCOM had no evidence to back up its initial claim.
While the US is active in operations against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, the terror group no longer holds any significant territory in either country. The US uses the missions against ISIS to justify its continued presence in the region, including its occupation of eastern Syria.
The US occupation of Syria is part of its economic campaign against the country, which involves crippling economic sanctions that are specifically designed to prevent Syria’s reconstruction.
Source: AntiWar.
