US Says it Struck ISIS Group in Syria

File photo: US airmen are shown at the Kobani Landing Zone in northern Syria, October 25, 2019. Staff Sgt. Joshua Hammock, AP
File photo: US airmen are shown at the Kobani Landing Zone in northern Syria, October 25, 2019. Staff Sgt. Joshua Hammock, AP
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US Says it Struck ISIS Group in Syria

File photo: US airmen are shown at the Kobani Landing Zone in northern Syria, October 25, 2019. Staff Sgt. Joshua Hammock, AP
File photo: US airmen are shown at the Kobani Landing Zone in northern Syria, October 25, 2019. Staff Sgt. Joshua Hammock, AP

The Pentagon says US Central Command forces have killed two operatives for the ISIS militant group in an airstrike in Syria.
The US military said the airstrike Monday in Deir Ezzour Province was aimed at ISIS militants who were moving a truckload of weapons, which was destroyed. Another ISIS operative was wounded, The Associated Press said.
Central Command said the area was formerly controlled by former President Bashar Assad’s regime and its Russian supporters. Assad fled to Moscow after opposition forces seized control of Damascus earlier this month and ended his family’s 50 years of iron rule.



Israeli Jets Attack Syria-Lebanon Border Crossings to Stop Arms Smuggling

 Lebanese army members stand near rubble at a damaged site after the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, in the Lebanese village of Khiam, December 23, 2024. (Reuters)
Lebanese army members stand near rubble at a damaged site after the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, in the Lebanese village of Khiam, December 23, 2024. (Reuters)
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Israeli Jets Attack Syria-Lebanon Border Crossings to Stop Arms Smuggling

 Lebanese army members stand near rubble at a damaged site after the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, in the Lebanese village of Khiam, December 23, 2024. (Reuters)
Lebanese army members stand near rubble at a damaged site after the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, in the Lebanese village of Khiam, December 23, 2024. (Reuters)

Israeli jets struck seven crossing points along the Syria-Lebanon border on Friday, aiming to cut the flow of weapons to the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group in southern Lebanon.

Israeli troops also seized a truck mounted with a 40-barrel rocket launcher in southern Lebanon, part of a haul from various areas that included explosives, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and AK-47 automatic rifles, the military said.

The commander of the Israeli Air Force, Major General Tomer Bar, said Hezbollah was trying to smuggle weapons into Lebanon to test Israel's ability to stop them.

"This must not be tolerated," he said in a statement.

Under the terms of a Nov. 27 ceasefire agreement, Israel is supposed to withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon in phases while unauthorized Hezbollah military facilities south of the Litani River are to be dismantled.

However, each side has accused the other of violating the agreement, intended to end more than a year of fighting that began with Hezbollah missile strikes on Israel in the aftermath of the Hamas-led attack of Oct. 7, 2023, from Gaza.

On Thursday, the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon called for Israeli forces to withdraw, citing what it said were repeated violations of the deal.

Israel, which destroyed large parts of Hezbollah's missile stocks during weeks of operations in southern Lebanon, has said it will not permit weapons to be smuggled to Hezbollah through Syria.

Israel has also conducted attacks against the Iranian-backed Houthi militias in Yemen in recent days and pledged to continue its campaign against Iranian-backed militant groups across the region.