American forces have "assisted and enabled" more than 22 operations against ISIS in Syria since last month, during which five members of the terrorist group were killed and 19 were captured, the US military said.
Syria has joined the US-led international coalition against ISIS, with President Ahmad Al Shara meeting US President Donald Trump at the White House this week in the first visit to Washington by a modern Syrian head of state.
US Central Command said on Wednesday that the anti-ISIS operations, carried out between October 1 and November 6, diminished "the terrorist group’s ability to conduct local operations". But it did not reveal the locations of the operations or offer details about who was involved.
“We will continue to aggressively pursue ISIS remnants in Syria while working with the Global Coalition Against ISIS to ensure the gains made against the group in Iraq and Syria are lasting and ISIS is not able to regenerate,” said Centcom commander Admiral Brad Cooper.
Syria has been carrying out nationwide pre-emptive operations against ISIS in recent months. Mr Al Shara has been in power since leading a rebel offensive last December that toppled long-time Syrian president Bashar Al Assad.
Working with US forces to pursue ISIS could prove a sensitive issue for Mr Al Shara's government, which is dominated by members of Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, a former rebel group that has its origins in an Al Qaeda splinter faction founded by Mr Al Shara. HTS has traditionally been an enemy of ISIS but also contains anti-US elements.
A security source based in Jordan previously told The National that anti-terrorism co-operation, centred on sharing intelligence, has been going on for months between Syria and the US, with Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra and General Intelligence chief Hussein Al Salama leading contact with Centcom, the US military command responsible for the Middle East.
On Tuesday, an official said in a video posted on X by the US embassy in Syria that the country's move to join the anti-ISIS coalition "will enable training and other military co-operation". The video was later reposted by US envoy Tom Barrack.
American forces have bases in areas of eastern Syria controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces, a mainly Kurdish armed group that is in discussions to integrate into the Syrian state. It is believed there are between 1,500 and 2,000 US troops in the country. But the US has no presence in areas held by Mr Al Shara's government.
Mr Al Shara told US media this week that American troops in Syria should supervise the integration of SDF fighters into the government's security forces.
In recent weeks, talks have reached an advanced stage on merging the US-backed, 40,000-member SDF without major changes to its structure. But the SDF has demanded international guarantees for any arrangement, Syrian sources told The National last month.
“Keeping Syria divided, or having any military force that is not under control of the government, represents the best environment for ISIS to flourish,” Mr Al Shara told The Washington Post.
