SYRIA  -  American forces carried out air strikes reportedly against alleged the Islamic State group in Syria on Monday, killing a dozen of its fighters, the US military says. “The strikes against the ISIS leaders, operatives, and camps were conducted as part of the ongoing mission to disrupt, degrade and defeat ISIS,” US Central Command (CENTCOM) says on social media, using an acronym for the Islamic State group. The aim is to prevent “the terrorist group from conducting external operations and to ensure that ISIS does not seek opportunities to reconstitute in central Syria,” CENTCOM says.

“These recent strikes are in former regime and Russian-controlled areas, ensuring pressure is maintained on ISIS,” it adds.

Washington is seeking to prevent the jihadist group from taking advantage of the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government, which was overthrown by an Islamist-led rebel alliance that took the capital Damascus on December 8.