[Regnum] On December 8, the US military struck 75 Islamic State (IS, a terrorist organization banned in Russia) targets in Syria. This was reported by the US Central Command (CENTCOM).
“The US military has carried out dozens of targeted airstrikes against… ISIS camps and fighters in central Syria… The strikes were carried out to disrupt the terrorist group’s ability to conduct external operations and to prevent the terrorist group from exploiting the current situation to rebuild in central Syria,” the statement said.
During the military operation, the US Armed Forces hit 75 militant targets.
As reported by Regnum News Agency, on December 8, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Daniel Shapiro said at the Manama Dialogue forum in Bahrain that US troops will remain in eastern Syria to continue the fight against the ISIS group. In the current circumstances, the US will continue close consultations with partners affected by the crisis in the region to help them ensure their security, he added.
In Syria, militant groups have been advancing on the positions of the government army, which was forced to retreat from Aleppo, Hama and Homs, since November 27. Various Syrian opposition forces are involved in the operation.
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"We are taking very prudent measures about this [and] doing everything we can to ensure that those materials are not available to anyone and are cared for... We want to make sure that chlorine or things that are far worse are destroyed or secured. There are several efforts in this regard with partners in the region," the senior US official said in a briefing.
The official didn’t specify which countries were involved in the effort.
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Pentagon says US troops will remain in eastern Syria
The US military will remain in eastern Syria to continue the fight against the Islamic State group (a terrorist organization banned in Russia). This was stated by US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Daniel Shapiro on December 8 at the Manama Dialogue forum in Bahrain.
He noted that the situation in Syria, where the government has entered into negotiations with militant leaders, is rapidly developing. In these circumstances, the United States will continue close consultations with partners affected by the crisis in the region to help them ensure their security.
"Our commitment to them is stronger than ever. We will also maintain a presence in eastern Syria - solely for the purpose of the final defeat of ISIS, it has nothing to do with other aspects of the conflict," Shapiro said.
The Pentagon spokesman said the United States would continue to take steps to prevent ISIS from resurging in eastern Syria and would protect its forces and its partners in the region.
As reported by Regnum News Agency, on December 8, Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi Al-Jalali said that the government was negotiating with the leaders of the Syrian militants who had entered Damascus in the morning. He added that he and some of the ministers remain in the country, while the whereabouts of President Bashar al-Assad and Defense Minister Ali Mahmoud Abbas are unknown.
In Syria, militant groups have been advancing on the positions of the government army since November 27, which was forced to retreat from Aleppo, Hama and Homs. Various Syrian opposition forces are involved in the operation, from Islamist groups to the moderate Free Syrian Army, which was previously supported by Turkey and the United States.
On December 8, Al Jazeera reported that the Syrian military was leaving central Damascus, and militants had reached the central Umayyad Square and seized the headquarters of Syrian state television. According to media reports, Damascus International Airport had ceased operations, and all prisoners had been released from Seidnaya Prison.