As the US continues to reduce its military footprint in Syria, US Central Command launched an airstrike that killed Rakhim Boev, who it identified as “a Syria-based ISIS official who was involved in planning external operations threatening U.S. citizens, our partners, and civilians.”
The Turkistan Islamic Party’s branch in Syria, an Al Qaeda ally, is being integrated into the new Syrian military as the 84th Division. The group’s leader, Abdul Haq al Turkistani, sits on Al Qaeda’s central governing council and directs the group’s operations in Syria. Despite this, the Trump administration is poised to lift sanctions on Syria.
US President Donald Trump met with Syrian interim president Ahmad al Sharaa, a US and UN-designated terrorist and the former leader of Al Qaeda’s branch in Syria, and committed to removing US sanctions on Syria.