US-led forces take out ISIS command centre in Syria

Fighters with the Syrian Democratic Forces have secured Hajin, the largest settlement in the last pocket of territory controlled by militants.
Fighters with the Syrian Democratic Forces have secured Hajin, the largest settlement in the last pocket of territory controlled by militants. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

WASHINGTON • United States-led coalition forces have destroyed an Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group command centre inside a mosque in the Syrian border town of Hajin, the US military said.

Its statement comes as Kurdish-led forces mop up the final remnants of ISIS militants in Hajin, the largest settlement in the last pocket of territory controlled by the Islamists.

More than 16 heavily armed ISIS fighters were at the command and control node at the mosque when it was destroyed by a precision strike last Saturday, a statement from the Combined Joint Task Force read.

The extremists, who were all killed in the strike, were using the mosque to command attacks against coalition partners, it said.

The ISIS group "continues to use protected structures to launch attacks against our coalition partners, with complete disregard for the infrastructure and innocent human lives", the statement added.

Fighters with the Syrian Democratic Forces secured Hajin after weeks of heavy fighting last Friday, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on December 17, 2018, with the headline US-led forces take out ISIS command centre in Syria. Subscribe