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Officials from U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) reported that a senior ISIS official in Syria was killed by their forces during an airstrike in the northern region of the country on Tuesday.
CENTCOM shared news about the strike in a social media post on Thursday.
CENTCOM stated that the airstrike targeted Rakhim Boev, an ISIS official based in Syria, who was actively involved in planning external operations that posed threats to U.S. citizens, as well as their partners and civilians. This strike was carried out as part of CENTCOM’s continuous efforts, in collaboration with regional partners, to disrupt and weaken terrorist activities aimed at organizing attacks against U.S. forces and their allies.
Last month, President Donald Trump announced he would normalize U.S. relations with Syria by lifting decades-old sanctions.
There was a significant change in approach compared to former President Trump’s stance, diametrically opposite to his statement from December where he characterized Syria as chaotic and warned against any involvement by the United States.
The December collapse of the Bashar al-Assad regime following the takeover by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former al-Qaeda affiliate, not only signified an end to a decades-long oppressive regime, it also effectively dismantled years of Iranian investment in a major setback to its regional influence.
An Islamic State terrorist in Mosul, Iraq. (Reuters)
Trump emphasized that this sanctions relief, which he argued will give the country a chance to recover and was soon followed by an EU order to lift sanctions, is a move to encourage Syria to normalize diplomatic ties with Israel.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who is also the leader of HTS, which is still a designated terrorist group under the U.S. and the UN, has not officially agreed to pursue diplomatic ties with Jerusalem – a push that several Middle Eastern nations have flatly rejected amid its aggressive military operations in the Gaza Strip.
Trump also emphasized that the new Syrian government needs to suppress the rise of Islamic extremist groups.
President Donald Trump with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, center, and Syrian President Ahmedal-Sharaa; al-Sharaa and Trump shake hands in Saudi Arabia on May 14. (Reuters)
Syria is not a united nation as conflict persists across the country among varying minority groups, former regime loyalists and terrorist organizations like ISIS.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also warned lawmakers last month that Syria could be just “weeks” away from a “potential collapse and a full-scale civil war of epic proportions.”
These fractures pose a significant vulnerability for the new Syrian government.
Fox News Digital’s Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.
