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A U.S. soldier approaches an M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle in northeastern Syria, Dec. 16, 2020.

A U.S. soldier approaches an M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle in northeastern Syria, Dec. 16, 2020. (Tarako Braswell/U.S. Army)

A “successful airstrike” in northern Syria has claimed the lives of two senior Islamic States leaders, U.S. Central Command said Thursday.

The strike, carried out at 6:32 p.m. local time, killed Abu-Hashum al-Umawai, a deputy Wali of Syria, and another official associated with him, a CENTCOM statement said.

No American or civilians were killed or wounded in the operation, according to the statement.

“This strike will degrade ISIS’ ability to destabilize the region and strike our forces and partners,” CENTCOM’s commander, Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, said in the statement. “Our forces remain in the region to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS.”

News of the strike came the same day CENTCOM announced that American troops had launched an early morning helicopter raid against another senior ISIS leader, killing him, wounding one of his associates and capturing two others.

That attack targeted Rakkan Wahid al-Shammri, who was involved in smuggling weapons and fighters, CENTCOM spokesman Col. Joseph Buccino said in an email.

About 1,000 American troops remain in Syria to train, advise and assist the Syrian Democratic Forces, primarily to ensure the defeat of ISIS, officials have said.

ISIS detainees and their families have remained in prisons in Syria since 2019, when the group suffered defeats that resulted in the loss of the large territories they once controlled.

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