US forces kill senior ISIS leader in Syria: Centcom

U.S. Central Command (Centcom), the military arm that oversees American forces in the Middle East, last week killed a senior Islamic State leader in an airstrike in northwest Syria, according to a Wednesday announcement.

The June 19 strike killed Ali Husayn al-‘Ulaywi “and is part of ongoing U.S. efforts to disrupt and eliminate terrorists seeking to attack Americans abroad or the U.S. homeland,” the command said in a statement.

CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper emphasized the U.S. campaign against ISIS, stating that the command and its partners “remain committed to rooting out remaining remnants” of the militant group.

ISIS earlier this year declared a new phase of its operations ​against the government of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who last year joined the U.S.-led coalition fighting the group.

ISIS has conducted several attacks since February, and most recently claimed responsibility for a Saturday attack near ​the city ​of Manbij ⁠in Syria’s northeastern Aleppo province. The Syrian Defense Ministry reported that two soldiers were killed in the incident.

ISIS in 2019 officially lost the territory it controlled in Syria – around a quarter ​of the country at one point – after a brutal fight with a U.S.-led coalition.

But the group didn’t fully dissipate and maintained a network of sleeper cells still able to carry out attacks and bombings. As U.S. forces gradually withdraw from Syria, analysts warn the group could regain some strength.

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