Syria

The move comes as fighting intensifies between the Kurdish-led fighters and forces loyal to the government of President Ahmad al-Sharaa.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said that it asked for help from a U.S. coalition base but that it "did not intervene, despite repeated calls for intervention."

Washington is caught between preventing a collapse of its Kurdish partners’ self-ruling enclave and supporting the Syrian president’s bid to consolidate control over the rest of the country.

Bilal Hasan al-Jasim plotted attacks and was directly connected to the ISIS shooter who killed Americans last month, officials said.

The attack was in response to an ISIS ambush in December that killed two soldiers and an interpreter.

Three civilians, including two women, were killed and others were wounded, including two children, state TV reported.

Despite its defeat in 2019, IS sleeper cells still carry out deadly attacks in Syria and Iraq where the extremists once declared their caliphate.

U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, said 11 missions were carried out over the past 10 days.

The clashes came two days after a bombing at an Alawite mosque in the city of Homs killed eight people and wounded 18 others during prayers.

In Latakia, pro-government counterprotesters throw rocks at Alawite demonstrators, while a group of protesters beat a counterdemonstrator who crossed to their side.