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General Michael Erik Kurilla, Commander of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), had traveled to Iraq and Syria, the command announced on December 15.
The visit, which took place on December 13-14, was the first by the commander since attacks on U.S. forces in both countries began on October 17 as a response to the Israeli war on the Palestinian Gaza Strip that broke out ten days earlier.
While in Iraq, Gen. Kurilla met with the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammad Shia’ al-Sudani; Chief of the General Staff, General Abdel Emir Yarallah; Joint Operations Command – Iraq Commander, Staff General Quis Khalaf Rahimah Al-Muhammadawi; and the U.S. Embassy team.
According to the CENTCOM, the leaders discussed current regional and local security concerns with a particular emphasis on the attacks against U.S. forces. Gen. Kurilla traveled to Baghdad, Ayn al-Assad Air Base and Erbil Airfield where he visited with coalition leaders and service members to receive an operational update and assess the current security situation.
In Syria, Gen. Kurilla traveled to multiple bases to meet with key partners in the so-called “defeat ISIS mission” and service members to gain an overall assessment of progress in the mission and the protection posture of U.S. forces.
“These visits provide valuable insights you cannot get without traveling to the region and seeing it first-hand. I came away with a great sense of pride in the professionalism, dedication, and competence of our incredible Service Members deployed in harm’s way, “ said Gen. Kurilla, according to a statement released by the CENTCOM.
The visit was announced just a few hours after the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI), an umbrella group of Iranian-backed armed factions, carried out a drone attack on Ain Al-Assad.
The IRI claimed responsibility for most of nearly a hundred attacks that have targeted U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria since the start of the war in Gaza.
The U.S. deployed around 1,200 troops and a dozen air defense systems to the two countries and others in the Middle East after the outbreak of the war in the Strip to strengthen its military presence in the region as it provided unconditional support for Israel.
