The second day of U.S.-led airstrikes in Syria was much less intense than the first, when militant targets in the country's northwest, north and east were hit in 16 strikes. Since early Tuesday, the U.S. military has conducted four airstrikes in Syria. Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren, however, says the reduction in attacks is no reason to think the fight against terrorists in Syria is diminishing as the U.S. military collects more intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance information, or ISR.
“I think you’ll see a mix of what we have seen in Iraq over the last several weeks, which is the result of active ISR, armed ISR, where we’ll strike targets of opportunity when presented," said Colonel Warren.
The Pentagon says those "targets of opportunity" have not yet included individual leaders of the Islamic State or the Khorasan group, the al-Qaida affiliate struck by U.S. Tomahawk cruise missiles late Monday. Regional media reported the leader of the Khorasan group was killed, but U.S. military officials stressed they do not have confirmation of his death at this time.
"We were targeting command and control facilities and if there were leaders in those command and control facilities, then we’re happy to see them no longer leading," said Warren.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group says bombings overnight hit Islamic State-held territory in Syria near the Turkish border, but the Pentagon told reporters the U.S. military did not conduct strikes in that area.
Colonel Warren also said that the military's intelligence shows U.S. strikes in Syria have not killed any civilians. This contradicts claims from the Syrian Network for Human Rights that about a dozen civilians died in the first night of strikes in the country.
The latest bombing is the 20th in Syria since Tuesday, when Washington and five Arab allies began the air campaign by bombing Islamic State training facilities and command centers.
Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby says the U.S. also struck IS targets in Iraq on Wednesday near the Kurdish city of Irbil, and the capital, Baghdad.
Asked about reports that the leader of the Khorosan group had been killed during overnight strikes, a Pentagon official declined confirmation.
"We are not making confirmations either way," he said. "We believe our strikes in Syria were effective. We believe that we were targeting facilities that will degrade both ISIL operations in Syria as well as Khorasan. We just don’t have a confirmation to make at this point. We don’t have personnel on the ground to verify."
The official added that the U.S. airstrikes are not targeting individuals but rather command and control and "if there were leaders in those facilities then we’re happy to see them no longer leading."