The U.S. military announced that nearly 25 Islamic State operatives were killed or captured in Syria this month. These operations, conducted between December 20-29, followed large-scale strikes on December 19 targeting IS weapons sites and infrastructure. The intensified campaign, involving U.S. and regional partners, aims to counter the IS threat and comes after an ambush that killed two U.S. troops and an interpreter. U.S. Central Command stated its commitment to working with regional partners to eliminate the IS threat.