USCENTCOM and SOHR Find ISIL Militants Are Still a Threat in Syria

U.S. Central Command Forces conducted a series of strikes against several camps of Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) on 28 OCT 2024 in the early evening.This killed up to 35 militants.*The strikes targeted multiple ISIL locations in the Syrian desert,targeting multiple ISIL senior leaders.There are no indications of civilian casualties.*These airstrikes will disrupt the ability of ISIL to plan,organise and conduct attacks against civilians,as well as the U.S. and its Allies and Partners throughout the region and beyond,USCENTCOM said.USCENTCOM,alongside Allies and Partners in the region will continue to agressively degrade ISIL operational capabilities to ensure its lasting defeat under Operation Inherent Resolve.*Meanwhile,the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR),an impartial UK-based monitoring organisation,found the following:SOHR has documented 235 operations carried out by ISIL,including armed attacks,executions and explosions targeting military and security forces in areas under control of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria since early 2024.According to SOHR statistics,these operations left 101 fatalities:64 members of U.S. Ally Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF),the official military force of the Autonomous Administration;the Internal Security Forces (Asayish) and other military formations operating in areas under control of the Autonomous Administrationl;12 ISIL members;25 civilians,including a child,two women and four guards of civil institutions.*The Autonomous Adminstration of North and East Syria (AANES) is a de facto autonomous region in Northeastern Syria,on the border with Iraq.It consists of self-governing sub-regions in the araeas of Afrin,Jazira,Euphrates,Raqqa,Tabqa,Marbij and Deir Ez-Zor.The AANES has widespread support for its universal democratic,equal and feminist policies in dialogue with other parties and organisations.Northeast Syria is multi-ethnic and home to sizeable Kurdish,Arab and Assyrian populations.It is a secular administration promoting decentralisation,gender equality,religious pluralism and cultural diversity.These values are mirrored in its Constitution,society and politics.The AANES has been described by non-partisan sources as the most democratic system in Syria,with direct,open elections;univerasl equlity;respecting human rights within the region as well as support of minority and religious freedom.Its population was an estimated 2 miilion as of 2018.*About 900 U.S. troops remain in Syria in support of counter-ISIL operations,with 2500 in Northern Iraq transitioning to an advisory role under Operation Inherent Resolve.The U.S. and its Allies have reportedly detained about 5,000 ISIL fighters and 50,000 indoctrinated family members.If they were freed,ISIL could reconstitute and grow,according to The Conversation,a group with funding from The Ohio State University.