US strikes dozens of ISIS targets in central Syria after regime collapses

Centcom said it used B-52 bombers and other planes to hit more than 75 targets

A Boeing B-52 Stratofortress. Getty Images / AFP

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The US military on Sunday launched dozens of strikes against ISIS targets in Syria as the Pentagon tries to stop the extremist group from expanding its influence in a post-Assad Syria.

Central Command said it used B-52 bombers as well as F-15s and other jets to strike known ISIS camps and operatives in central Syria, hitting more than 75 targets.

"When they try to gather, when they try to train, and we see it, which we do, we take them out," a senior US administration official told reporters. "There happened to be, over the course of today, a fairly broad gathering … across a fairly broad area."

The official said the US military would maintain pressure on ISIS after the collapse of the regime of Syrian president Bashar Al Assad.

"These guys want to reconstitute. They've been unable to do it. We have kept pressure on them relentlessly, month after month. I think it's been very effective and we're going to make sure that if they think they can seize advantage in this situation, that they can't."

Centcom said damage assessments from the strikes were under way, but there was no initial indications of civilian casualties.