A MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle prepares to land after a mission in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Brian Ferguson)
On July 9, the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that it had killed ISIS leader in eastern Syria, Usamah al-Muhajir.
In a statement, the command said that al-Muhajir was killed in a strike that took place on July 7. On that day, Syrian media reported the death of a man near the Turkish-occupied town of al-Bab in the northern Aleppo countryside as a result of a drone strike.
“We have made it clear that we remain committed to the defeat of ISIS throughout the region,” said Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, commander of U.S. Central Command. “ISIS remains a threat, not only to the region but well beyond.”
There are no indications that any civilians were killed in this strike, CENTCOM said in its statement, adding that it is assessing reports of a civilian injury.
The command went on to say that the drone strike “will disrupt and degrade ISIS’s ability to plan and conduct terror attacks.”
The strike was conducted by the same MQ-9 combat drones that had, earlier on July 7, been harassed by Russian fighter jets in an encounter that had lasted almost two hours, CENTCOM claimed.
The Russian Center for Reconciliation Center responded to these accusations at the time by saying that the drones were activating their weapons systems against Russian fighter jets and flying over an area where joint Russian-Syrian aerial drills were taking place.
The U.S.-led coalition keeps hundreds of troops in Syria and operate in the country’s airspace under the pretext of fighting ISIS without any authorization from Damascus.
CENTCOM’s claims about the July 7 drone strikes are questionable. Syrian media identified the man killed in the strike as Hammam Abu Anas al-Shami, not Usamah al-Muhajir. In May, the command claimed responsibility for a strike that killed a man in the northwestern region of Greater Idlib, claiming that he was a senior leader of al-Qaeda. Later, it became known that the man was a civilian.
It is possible that CENTCOM carried out the drone strike just to create justification to continue its uncoordinated drone operations over Syria.
