The US Military Calls Nearly 700 ISIS Troops Died In Syria And Iraq Throughout 2022

JAKARTA - Nearly 700 ISIS fighters in Syria and Iraq have been killed in 313 operations by 2022, the United States Central Military Command (Centcom) said on Friday.

Most operations were carried out in collaboration with US-backed Kurdish militants, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Iraqi Security Forces.

The US military was involved in 108 joint operations and 14 independent operations in Syria, of which 466 ISIS members were killed.

"At least 220 ISIS fighters were killed in 191 partner operations in Iraq," US Centcom said.

"This operation weakens ISIS and removes senior leader cadres from the battlefield, including ISIS emirs and dozens of regional leaders as well as hundreds of fighters," the US Centcom said.

On the other hand, the military command said no US soldiers were injured or killed during the operation. The US combat mission in Iraq ended in December 2021 and the military took on the role of advisor.

"Over the past year, Iraqi Security Forces have demonstrated the ability to continue operations to deploy ISIS, aggressively pursue terror groups in Iraq, and to improve security and stability in Iraq," said Centcom commander General Michael Kurilla.

"In Syria, the Syrian Democratic Forces continue to show the will, skill and ability to aggressively eradicate ISIS leaders and fighters," he said.

The US Centcom said more than 10,000 ISIS fighters remained at detention centers across Syria and 20,000 were detained in Iraq.

This month, ISIS fighters attacked a shelter complex in the northeastern city of Raqqa of Syria, killing six Kurdish fighters.

In January, ISIS fighters came out of the Ghwayran prison in Hassakeh, which caused deadly clashes between the SDF and terrorists.

"The next fight to contain the escape resulted in more than 420 ISIS being killed and more than 120 partner troops killed," said General Kurilla.

On the occasion, he also warned of the "next generation" of ISIS members, referring to 25,000 children in Syria's Al Hol camp, which houses ISIS fighters and fighters' wives.

"Children in this camp are the main targets of ISIS radicalization. The international community must work together to get these children out of this neighborhood by repatriating them to their country or community of origin while improving conditions in the camps," said the Panamanian Operations veteran to the Afghanistan war.

It is known, experts accuse some women in camps of continuing to follow ISIS ideology.

"Al Hol is about survival. It's about keeping moving," Amarnath Amarasingam, an extremist at Queen's University in Canada, told The National.