President Biden announced on Sunday that U.S. military forces had conducted airstrikes in Syria to keep the Islamic State from reasserting itself in the aftermath of the fall of President Bashar al-Assad’s government.
Speaking at the White House, Mr. Biden celebrated Mr. Assad’s fall and expressed hope that after decades of repressive rule, the people of Syria could build a new, freer society. But he warned of the dangers of instability and vowed to prevent terrorists from regaining traction.
“At long last, the Assad regime has fallen,” he said in his televised remarks from the Roosevelt Room. “This regime brutalized and tortured and killed literally hundreds of thousands of innocent Syrians. The fall of the regime is a fundamental act of justice. It’s a moment of historic opportunity for the long-suffering people of Syria to build a better future for their proud county. It’s also a moment of risk and uncertainty.”
To that end, Mr. Biden said, U.S. forces took action on Sunday to wipe out pockets of the Islamic State, the ferocious radical group also known as ISIS that for a time took over broad swaths of Syria and Iraq until beaten back by a U.S.-led coalition. Experts in the region worry that the chaos of the coming days could provide an opening to the Islamic State to reconstitute itself as a major force in Syria.
“We’re cleareyed about the fact that ISIS will try to take advantage of any vacuum to reestablish its capability, to create a safe haven,” Mr. Biden said. “We will not let that happen. Just today, U.S. forces conducted a dozen precision strikes, airstrikes, within Syria targeting ISIS camps and ISIS operatives.”
The U.S. Central Command, which oversees military actions in the Middle East, said Sunday’s operations struck more than 75 targets in central Syria using B-52, F-15 and A-10 warplanes. “Battle damage assessments are underway and there are no indications of civilian casualties,” the command said in a statement.
