Airstrikes Kill 150 Islamic State Militants in Syria, U.S. Says

(Bloomberg) -- An airstrike by the U.S.-led military coalition fighting Islamic State killed as many as 150 militants in one of their few remaining Syrian strongholds Jan. 20, according to the coalition.

“Precision strikes” targeted the terrorists near the town of As Shafah in Syria’s Middle Euphrates River Valley on Jan. 20, the coalition said in a statement. The location served as an Islamic State headquarters and command and control center and the militants appeared to have been “massing for movement,” according to the statement.

While the U.S. insists the extremist group has lost nearly all of its physical caliphate, the Pentagon and State Department have signaled that American troops will remain in Syria indefinitely to thwart militants from Islamic State and al-Qaeda and stem Iran’s influence.

The latest bombings were the result of extensive intelligence-gathering, including help from allied Syrian Democratic Forces in “target observation” before the strikes, according to the statement.

The killings “underscore our assertion that the fight to liberate Syria is far from over,” Major General James Jarrard, commanding general of Special Operations Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve, said in the statement.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nafeesa Syeed in Washington at nsyeed@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Bill Faries at wfaries@bloomberg.net, Robert Jameson

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