U.S. airstrikes on Syria kill 37 militants affiliated with extremist groups

BEIRUT (AP) — The U.S. military says 37 militants in Syria affiliated with the extremist Islamic State group and an al-Qaeda-linked group were killed in two strikes. It says two senior militants are among the dead. U.S. Central Command said it struck northwestern Syria on Tuesday targeting a senior militant from the al-Qaeda-linked Hurras al-Deen group and eight others. They say he was responsible for overseeing military operations. In a statement, Central Command said, “The airstrike will disrupt ISIS’ capability to conduct operations against U.S. interests, as well as our allies and partners.” There are some 900 U.S. forces in Syria, mostly trying to prevent a comeback by the extremist IS group, which seized swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014.