CENTCOM kills ISIS official in Syria airstrike targeting external operations

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces killed a Syria-based ISIS official during an airstrike in the northern part of Syria on Tuesday, according to officials.

CENTCOM shared news about the strike in a social media post on Thursday.

“On June 10, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) Forces conducted a precision airstrike in Northwest Syria killing Rakhim Boev, a Syria-based ISIS official who was involved in planning external operations threatening U.S. citizens, our partners, and civilians,” CENTCOM said. “This airstrike is part of CENTCOM’s ongoing commitment, alongside regional partners, to disrupt and degrade efforts by terrorists to plan, organize, and conduct attacks against U.S. forces and our allies.”

Last month, President Donald Trump announced he would normalize U.S. relations with Syria by lifting decades-old sanctions.

The move was a surprising shift from Trump’s prior position, in which he said in December that “Syria is a mess, but is not our friend, & THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT.”

The December collapse of the Bashar al-Assad regime following the takeover by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former al-Qaeda affiliate, not only signified an end to a decades-long oppressive regime, it also effectively dismantled years of Iranian investment in a major setback to its regional influence.  

Trump emphasized that this sanctions relief, which he argued will give the country a chance to recover and was soon followed by an EU order to lift sanctions, is a move to encourage Syria to normalize diplomatic ties with Israel.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who is also the leader of HTS, which is still a designated terrorist group under the U.S. and the UN, has not officially agreed to pursue diplomatic ties with Jerusalem – a push that several Middle Eastern nations have flatly rejected amid its aggressive military operations in the Gaza Strip.

Trump also emphasized that the new Syrian government needs to suppress the rise of Islamic extremist groups.

Syria is not a united nation as conflict persists across the country among varying minority groups, former regime loyalists and terrorist organizations like ISIS.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio also warned lawmakers last month that Syria could be just “weeks” away from a “potential collapse and a full-scale civil war of epic proportions.”

These fractures pose a significant vulnerability for the new Syrian government.

Fox News Digital’s Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.