The US Central Command announced that an American drone strike had eliminated a senior leader of the terrorist organization, ISIS.
Usamah al-Muhajir was killed in eastern Syria by three MQ-9 Reaper drones.
According to General Michael Kurilla of the Central Command, “We have made it clear that we remain committed to the defeat of ISIS throughout the region.”
The successful attack came after a tense stand-off between US and Russian aircrafts over Syria.
At approximately 9:30 a.m. Russian aircrafts dropped flares in front of the drones endangering all aircrafts involved.
24 hours earlier, similar parachute flares were used by Russia to force the drones into evasive maneuvers.
At one point, a Russian jet even cut in front of one of the drones and activated its afterburner which significantly reduced its ability to be safely operated.
According to reports from Central Command, there are no indications that any civilians were injured or killed during this mission however, they are still assessing possible civilian injury reports related to this incident.
Although ISIS has lost much power since 2014 when they controlled a third of Iraq and Syria, officials are still concerned about their presence in the region as well as possible attacks abroad by surviving leaders and operatives who managed to flee during 2019 when much of their hold was lost.
The US is continuing with their commitment in hunting down these remaining officials while also maintaining security within Iraq and Syria from other threats posed by terrorism.
