Airstrike killed senior ISIS commander in Syria, CENTCOM says

A senior Islamic State leader was killed by an airstrike last week, Central Command announced on Wednesday, as the region grapples with a fraught security landscape amid U.S. base closures in Syria and the escape of ISIS personnel from detainment.

Ali Husayn al-Ulaywi was killed in a precision airstrike on June 19 as part of the U.S.’s ongoing campaign to eradicate the militant group , the command said.

“CENTCOM and our partners remain committed to rooting out remaining remnants of ISIS to ensure its enduring defeat,” Adm. Brad Cooper, the CENTCOM commander, said in the Wednesday statement. “We will continue to defend the U.S. homeland, our service members, and allies and partners across the region.”

After the December 2024 fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, different armed groups scrambled to control various corners of the country. Early this year, Syria’s rapidly shifting front lines allowed around 150 ISIS detainees to escape custody, according to a recent Inspector General report.

As security deteriorated, U.S. forces secured the Panorama detention facility in northeastern Syria and in the weeks that followed, CENTCOM transferred over 5,000 ISIS detainees from Syria to government-run facilities in Iraq.

The report also found that up to 20,000 residents left the al-Hol displacement camp — which housed ISIS family members and affiliates — without monitoring.

In April, the American forces shuttered their remaining bases in Syria after a decade in the country in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S. campaign combating the spread of ISIS. The report, which covered the first quarter of 2026, said U.S. forces also withdrew from the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center, which was a logistics hub, but remained in the Iraqi Kurdistan region and at the Embassy Baghdad Compound.

The recent discovery of previously-hidden chemical weapons material has further complicated the fragile landscape, creating concerns of proliferation on the black market.

Eve Sampson is a reporter and former Army officer. She has covered conflict across the world, writing for The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Associated Press.

美国中央司令部周三宣布，一名伊斯兰国高级领导人上周在空袭中丧生。与此同时，由于美国在叙利亚的军事基地关闭以及伊斯兰国人员从拘留所逃脱，该地区正面临着严峻的安全形势。

指挥部称，阿里·侯赛因·乌莱维于 6 月 19 日在一次精确空袭中丧生，这是美国持续开展的根除该武装组织的行动的一部分。

“中央司令部及其合作伙伴将继续致力于彻底铲除伊斯兰国残余势力，确保其彻底失败，”中央司令部司令布拉德·库珀海军上将在周三的声明中表示。“我们将继续保卫美国本土、我们的军人以及该地区的盟友和伙伴。”

2024年12月叙利亚前总统巴沙尔·阿萨德倒台后，各武装团体争相控制该国不同地区。根据最近一份监察长报告，今年年初，叙利亚战线的快速变化导致约150名“伊斯兰国”被拘留者逃脱。

随着安全局势恶化，美军控制了叙利亚东北部的帕诺拉马拘留设施，在接下来的几周里，中央司令部将 5000 多名 ISIS 被拘留者从叙利亚转移到伊拉克政府运营的设施。

该报告还发现，多达 2 万名居民在无人监管的情况下离开了 al-Hol 流离失所者营地（该营地收容了 ISIS 成员的家属和附属人员）。

今年4月，美军在叙利亚驻扎十年后关闭了所有剩余基地。十年前，美军一直支持“坚定决心行动”（Operation Inherent Resolve），即美国打击“伊斯兰国”（ISIS）的军事行动。这份涵盖2026年第一季度的报告指出，美军还撤出了巴格达外交支援中心（Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center），该中心曾是后勤枢纽，但仍有美军驻扎在伊拉克库尔德斯坦地区和美国驻巴格达大使馆院内。

最近发现的此前隐藏的化学武器材料进一步加剧了本已脆弱的局势，引发了人们对黑市扩散的担忧。

伊芙·桑普森是一名记者，也是一名前陆军军官。她曾报道过世界各地的冲突，为《纽约时报》、《华盛顿邮报》和美联社撰稿。