This is a necessary step, since ISIS’ resurgence is fact, and the United States needs urgent justification to remain in the Middle East with a hefty presence.
In an approximately 10-day-period, the US-led coalition carried out 133 on a cave complex that served as a safe haven for terrorists.
This is more than any monthly amount on both Iraq and Syria since 2019.
he offensive, in support of Iraqi ground forces, destroyed 61 hideouts, 24 caves, and eliminated “a number of terrorists,” said Col. Wayne Marotto, spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve.
Iraqi Ministry of Defense spokesman Yehia Rasool said the mission was aimed at drying up the sources of terrorism. The Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service led the ground effort.
The U.S. government estimates that between 8,000 and 16,000 ISIS fighters remain in Iraq and Syria, with the group operating as a “low-level” insurgency in rural areas, according to a February report by the Defense Department’s Lead Inspector General for Operation Inherent Resolve.
To provide some numbers for comparison, in Syria, Russian warplanes launched 97 airstrikes against ISIS sites in the Badia region over March 20th – 22nd.
source:southfront.org
