Pentagon Press Secretary Air Drive Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder says the menace from IS in Syria “isn’t a brand new factor”however efforts to fight IS “nonetheless continues as a result of the menace nonetheless exists” throughout a Thursday briefing on the Pentagon.
Watch Ryder’s remarks within the participant above.
“Our focus is to proceed to work with our companions within the area by, with, and thru to remove that menace and hopefully forestall it from spreading additional,” he mentioned.
U.S. particular operations forces carried out a raid in northeast Syria in a single day, killing an Islamic State rebel who was concerned in smuggling weapons and fighters, U.S. officers mentioned Thursday.
U.S. officers mentioned a small variety of U.S. troops have been on the bottom close to the village of Qamishli for lower than an hour to conduct the raid.
In an announcement, U.S. Central Command mentioned that the helicopter raid focused Rakkan Wahid al Shamman, who was identified to facilitate the smuggling in help of IS operations.
The assertion mentioned he was killed within the raid, and that one IS rebel was wounded and two others have been captured and detained.
In keeping with the assertion, no civilians or U.S. troops or have been killed or injured within the raid.
The U.S. continues to have about 900 forces in Syria to advise and help Syrian Democratic Forces within the combat towards the Islamic State group.
In the meantime, South Korea says North Korea flew 12 warplanes close to their mutual border on Thursday, prompting South Korea to scramble 30 army planes in response.
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The extremely uncommon incident got here hours after North Korea fired two ballistic missiles into the ocean in its sixth spherical of missile checks in lower than two weeks.
South Korea’s army says eight North Korean fighter jets and 4 bombers flew in formation close to the border and are believed to have carried out air-to-surface firing drills.
“We think about this conduct destabilizing, unhelpful and irresponsible. And once more, we name on the DPRK to stop these kind of actions,” Ryder advised reporters in a briefing.
Tensions have risen sharply on the Korean Peninsula as North Korea’s latest barrage of missile checks prompted South Korea, america and Japan to conduct joint drills in response.
U.S., South Korean and Japanese destroyers launched joint drills later Thursday off the Korean Peninsula’s east coast to horn their skills to go looking, observe and intercept North Korean ballistic missiles, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Employees mentioned.
The U.S. destroyer is a part of the strike group led by the nuclear-powered plane provider USS Ronald Reagan, which returned to the waters in what South Korea’s army known as an try to exhibit the allies’ “agency will” to counter North’s continued provocations and threats.
“These are defensive workout routines which can be centered on how we might defend ourselves and the way we might deter. And they don’t seem to be a menace in any respect to the area. Not like the provocative actions coming from North Korea regime”, Ryder mentioned.
The strike group was within the space final week as a part of earlier drills between South Korea and america, and the allies’ different coaching involving Japan.
North Korea considers such U.S.-led drills close to the peninsula as an invasion rehearsal and views coaching involving a U.S. provider as extra provocative.
