Unlike past US-led coalition strike reports, Tuesday’s release contained, however, no details of the Syrian strikes. The report covered the period between 30 December and 6 January, the release said.
The US-led coalition concentrated airstrikes and coordinated fires on Syria’s middle Euphrates River Valley and Iraq’s Anbar Province during the first week of the new year, while American backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) freed the town of al-Kashmah from the Daesh terror group, Combined Joint Task Force — Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) announced in a press release on Tuesday.
READ MORE: US Coalition Strikes Deir ez-Zor Using Banned White Phosphorus — Syrian Media
"In Iraq, CJTF-OIR and partner forces destroyed more than 600 IEDs [improvised explosive devices] throughout the Anbar Province. Coordinated airstrikes across Iraq destroyed approximately nine ISIS [Daesh*] weapon caches and removed an estimated ten ISIS [Daesh] terrorists from the battlefield."
The northeastern regions of Syria are currently controlled by the US-backed SDF. While the SDF is one of the parties engaged in conflict with the Syrian government — Damascus considers its actions as illegal — it is determined to fight off the remaining strongholds of terrorism in the country, just as the central government is.
READ MORE: US-Led Coalition Denies Units in Syria Equipped With Whites Phosphorus Munitions
According to the US-led coalition's earlier reports, since the establishment of CJTF-OIR in 2014, the Coalition has reclaimed more than 99 percent of the Daesh’s previously held ground of more than 100,000 square kilometers, roughly equivalent in size to Britain. The Coalition grew from 70 nations and four partner organizations to 74 nations and five partner organizations in 2018, with the addition of the Philippines in February, Republic of Guinea and the Community of Sahel-Sahran States in June, Kenya in August, and Fiji in September.
The US-led international coalition has conducted strikes in Syria without the consent of the government in Damascus, while Baghdad has given its consent for operations on Iraqi territory.
*Daesh (ISIL/ISIS/IS/Islamic State) is a terrorist organisation banned in Russia.
