F-18E Super Hornet taking off from the Abraham Lincoln [EPA Yonhap News]

The United States has expanded its airstrikes against the Islamic State (IS) extremist group.

According to Politico, a U.S. political news outlet, on the 14th (local time), the U.S. Central Command, which oversees U.S. forces in the Middle East, stated in a press release that it had conducted 10 airstrikes against IS targets in Syria from the 3rd of this month over a ten-day period.

These airstrikes targeted over 30 locations, including weapons storage facilities and logistics and command infrastructure, resulting in the deaths or capture of at least 50 IS members.

U.S. forces have been conducting airstrikes in retaliation since two U.S. soldiers and an interpreter were killed in an IS ambush in central Syria on December 13th of last year.

To date, U.S. forces have struck over 100 IS-related targets.

In addition, the U.S. military announced that it had transferred thousands of IS members detained in Syria to Iraq.

The IS members are expected to stand trial in Iraq.

Meanwhile, on the 12th, the U.S. military completely withdrew from the Al-Tanf base, a key garrison in Syria, and handed it over to Syrian government forces.

Al-Tanf, located in southeastern Syria, is a strategic point bordering Iraq and Jordan.

U.S. forces have been cooperating with Syrian government forces to counter IS since the collapse of the Bashar al-Assad regime in December 2024.

IS members transferred to Iran [AP Yonhap News]

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