US says it killed or captured 25 ISIL operatives in Syria over nine days

US Central Command says military campaign follows killing of US soldiers, ‘massive strikes’ across central Syria.Published On 30 Dec 2025The United States military says it has killed or captured about 25 ISIL (ISIS) fighters in a wave of attacks over nine days in Syria.US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees the US military’s Middle East operations, issued a statement on Tuesday marking the conclusion of the operations this month.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Syrian gov’t troops deployed to Latakia, Tartous after deadly clasheslist 2 of 3Recent clashes in coastal Syria “not the fault” of governmentlist 3 of 3How serious are the sectarian tensions facing Syria?end of listThe campaign followed the killing of two US soldiers and a civilian interpreter by an ISIL gunman in Syria on December 13 and widescale US strikes against the group six days later.“US Central Command (CENTCOM) and partners across Syria killed at least seven ISIS members and captured the remainder during 11 missions conducted Dec. 20-29,” CENTCOM statement said. “The operations also led to the elimination of four ISIS weapons caches.”It did not provide the identities of those targeted.The US deployed as many as 2,000 soldiers to Syria during the fight against ISIL, which started in 2014.The current deployment of US soldiers sits at about 1,000 with the administration of US President Donald Trump announcing this year that it would further slash the number of US bases and soldiers in the country.ISIL controlled large areas in Syria and Iraq from 2014 to 2019. Despite the group’s territorial defeat, US officials said ISIL remnants continue to pose a threat to the region.The US military has long cooperated with the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northeastern Syria. Since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad a year ago, CENTCOM has said it is also working with the new Syrian government.Syria officially joined the US-led global coalition against ISIL last month after President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former rebel commander who once led a group with ties to al-Qaeda, visited the White House and met with Trump.