BEIRUT: A Syria monitor said Saturday that at least five Islamic State group members including a cell leader were killed in US strikes overnight in retaliation for an attack last weekend that left three Americans dead. Washington said a lone gunman from the IS jihadist group carried out the Dec. 13 attack in Palmyra, home to UNESCO-listed ancient ruins and once controlled by jihadist fighters, which killed two US soldiers and a US civilian. In response, the United States &quot;struck more than 70 targets at multiple locations across central Syria with fighter jets, attack helicopters and artillery,&quot; US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement. Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP that &quot;at least five members of the Islamic State group were killed&quot; in eastern Syria&#39;s Deir Ezzor province, including the leader of a cell responsible for drones in the area. A Syrian security source told AFP that the US strikes targeted IS cells in Syria&#39;s vast Badia desert including in Homs, Deir Ezzor and Raqa provinces, and did not include ground operations. Most of the targets were in a mountainous area running north of Palmyra including towards Deir Ezzor, the source said, requesting anonymity. Using another acronym for IS, CENTCOM said &quot;the operation employed more than 100 precision munitions targeting known ISIS infrastructure and weapons sites.&quot; President Donald Trump said in a post on his Truth Social network that the United States is &quot;inflicting very serious retaliation, just as I promised, on the murderous terrorists responsible,&quot; and that those who attack Americans &quot;WILL BE HIT HARDER THAN YOU HAVE EVER BEEN HIT BEFORE.&quot;

Middle East

The strike come after a lone gunman from the IS jihadist group carried out the Dec. 13 attack in Palmyra, home to UNESCO-listed ancient ruins and once controlled by jihadist fighters, which killed two US soldiers and a US civilian.

Syria monitor says US strikes killed at least five IS members

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Following the deadly shooting at Sydney&rsquo;s Bondi Beach on Sunday, several&nbsp;Indian and Israeli media outlets misreported the identities of both the attackers and the bystander who was hailed a hero, instead framing the incident around religion and nationality. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu erroneously described the man who subdued one of the attackers as Jewish, while Israeli and Indian media alleged the gunmen were &ldquo;Pakistani Muslims.&rdquo; &ldquo;I saw a video on the way of a Jew who pounced on one of the murderers, snatched the weapon, saving who knows how many lives,&rdquo; the Israeli PM said during a briefing in Dimona, Israel. The Times of India shied away from describing the hero as a Syrian Muslim, and instead reported, &ldquo;Social media footage showed moments of bravery amid the terror, including a bystander who confronted one of the gunmen and wrestled a weapon away.&rdquo; Indian media outlets, including ANI and The Times of India, kept falsely asserting that the attackers were a Pakistani father and son. Both claims were wrong and contradicted by Australian officials&#39; descriptions of the incident. Neither the Israeli leader nor the Indian media has taken back their statements. Jewish victims, Muslim heroThe shooting targeted a Hanukkah celebration, killing at least 15 people according to official reports. The attack was quickly labelled an antisemitic terrorist attack by Australian officials, prompting international condemnation. Amid the chaos, an unarmed individual, identified as Ahmed al Ahmed, charged at one of the gunmen and snatched his gun while sustaining bullet shots. The international media was quick to praise the hero. Police credited Ahmed, father of two, with preventing further loss of life. Australian police said the attackers were linked to the Islamic State group, also known as Daesh, and were not acting on behalf of any state or national community. &quot;Clearly, they were motivated by this extremist ideology,&quot; Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. A makeshift flower memorial next to Bondi Beach swelled in size on Monday evening as mourners gathered to pay tribute to the victims.

Australasia

Indian and Israeli media misreported the identities of the Bondi Beach attackers and a bystander hero, falsely linking the gunmen to Pakistan and not correctly identifying the Syrian Muslim rescuer, despite clarification by Australian authorities later.

Articles tagged with "islamic state"

Syria monitor says US strikes killed at least five IS members

Indian, Israeli media misreport Sydney beach shooters, bystander identities