The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces had conducted an airstrike that killed ISIS leader Abu Yusif in eastern Syria.
One other ISIS operative was also killed in the strike that occurred on Thursday, the agency said in a release on Friday morning.
"As stated before, the United States — working with allies and partners in the region — will not allow ISIS to take advantage of the current situation in Syria and reconstitute," CENTCOM Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla said. "ISIS has the intent to break out of detention the over 8,000 ISIS operatives currently being held in facilities in Syria."
"We will aggressively target these leaders and operatives, including those trying to conduct operations external to Syria," he said.
The agency said they carried out the targeted airstrike in the eastern province of Deir ez Zor in Syria, noting that it's part of their ongoing commitment to "disrupt and degrade efforts" by terrorists.
They said the area was previously controlled by the Syrian regime and Russian forces before the recent fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Al-Assad fled to Russia earlier this month and ended a nearly 14-year struggle to maintain power in his country.
Attacks by the Turkish military on Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have increased since the Syrian president fled to Russia on Dec. 8.
Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Ryder said that in light of the instability in the region, as well as al-Assad's departure, there are 2,000 U.S. troops deployed in Syria.
Fox News Digital's Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has flown to Florida to meet with President-elect Trump at his Mar-a-Lago club after Trump threatened to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian products.
A person familiar with the matter, according to the AP, said Trudeau will have dinner with Trump. The official was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Canadian Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc accompanied Trudeau on the trip. Trudeau is the first G-7 leader to visit Trump since the U.S. election.
The visit comes days after Trump threatened to impose 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico over failures by both nations to curb the flow of illegal immigrants and illicit drugs from those countries into the U.S.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Trump's representatives.
Trudeau said earlier Friday that he would resolve the tariff issue by talking to Trump.
"We’re going to work together to meet some of the concerns," he told reporters in Canada's Prince Edward Island. "But ultimately it is through lots of real constructive conversations with President Trump that I am going to have, that will keep us moving forward on the right track for all Canadians."
Trudeau said Trump got elected because he promised to bring down the cost of groceries, but now he's talking about adding 25% to the cost of all kinds of products, including potatoes from Prince Edward Island.
"It is important to understand that Donald Trump, when he makes statements like that, he plans on carrying them out. There’s no question about it," Trudeau said.
Earlier in the week, Trump said he would impose the tariffs on America's neighbors on the first day of his presidency.
"Right now a Caravan coming from Mexico, composed of thousands of people, seems to be unstoppable in its quest to come through our currently Open Border," he wrote. "On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders."
On Wednesday, Trump spoke with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo. He said Sheinbaum agreed to "stop Migration through Mexico, and into the United States," following a productive discussion over the phone.
Sheinbaum had promised to raise tariffs on U.S. goods if Trump followed through with his threat.
Trump has previously urged Canada and Mexico to do more to prevent illegal migration into the U.S. and to combat the flow of illegal drugs, in particular fentanyl.
Shortly after Trump's tariff promises, Canadian officials said the country places the "highest priority" on border security.
"Our relationship today is balanced and mutually beneficial, particularly for American workers," Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said in a joint statement. "Today, Canada buys more from the United States than China, Japan, France, and the U.K. combined. Canada is essential to US domestic energy supply, and last year 60 percent of U.S. crude oil imports originated in Canada."
About 60% of U.S. crude oil imports are from Canada, and 85% of U.S. electricity imports are from Canada.
Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum and uranium to the U.S., and has 34 critical minerals and metals that the Pentagon deems vital for national security.
Should Trump follow through on his tariff threat, Canada could impose retaliatory tariffs on certain U.S. goods, a senior Canadian official told The Associated Press this week.
When Trump imposed higher tariffs during his first term, other countries responded with tariffs of their own. In 2018, Canada announced billions in duties against the U.S. in response to taxes on Canadian steel and aluminum.
Former Secretary of State John Kerry claimed that there is a "climate emergency," and suggested that Africans without electricity must select "the right kinds of electricity," likely referring to green energy production, and that the U.S. must help them to afford it.
Kerry made the comments at a speaking event at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics on Thursday.
The Democrat suggested there will be a need to "declare a climate emergency, which is what we really have. And we need to get people to behave as if this really is a major transitional challenge to the whole planet."
He noted that the U.S. has the biggest economy on earth, with China in second place.
Kerry, a former senator and the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee who lost to incumbent Republican President George W. Bush, went on to serve as secretary of state during a portion of President Obama's White House tenure.
He has also previously served as special presidential envoy for climate under President Biden.
Bipartisan backlash erupted in response to news that Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court targeted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant with arrest warrants.
The chamber issued the arrest warrants against the two men "for crimes against humanity and war crimes," according to the ICC.
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa. – who has been a stalwart supporter of Israel in the wake of the heinous Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attack against the Jewish state – responded to the ICC's move in a post on X, writing, "No standing, relevance, or path. F--- that." He capped off the tweet with an Israeli flag emoji.
Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., excoriated the ICC, accusing it of ignoring the context of Israel's war effort, which the U.S. ally launched in response to the horrific Oct. 7 attack last year. During the assault, Hamas terrorists committed atrocities including rape, murder and kidnapping.
"The ICC’s decision to issue arrest warrants against the leadership of Israel represents the weaponization of international law at its most egregious. The ICC has set a precedent for criminalizing self-defense: any country daring to defend itself against an enemy that exploits civilians as human shields will face persecution posing as prosecution," Torres declared in a post on X.
"The ICC ignores the cause and context of the war. Israel did not initiate the war. The war was imposed upon Israel by the unbridged barbarism of Hamas on October 7th. Not only did Hamas wage war on Israel, causing the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, it carefully constructed a battlefield designed to maximize the loss of civilian life," he continued.
"None of that context seems to matter to the kangaroo court of the ICC, which cannot let facts get in the way of its ideological crusade against the Jewish State. The ICC should be sanctioned not for enforcing the law but for distorting it beyond recognition," the congressman concluded.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, declared in a post, "Enough of this dangerous lawfare against @netanyahu & Israel. @SenSchumer must stop blocking a Senate vote on my bipartisan (42 Dems joined) House-passed ICC sanctions bill, #HR8282. Vote now!"
Torres was one of the dozens of House Democrats who voted in favor of passing the measure earlier this year.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., referred to the ICC as "a dangerous joke," declaring in a tweet, "It is now time for the U.S. Senate to act and sanction this irresponsible body."
The incoming Trump administration has reinvoked chatter about the possibility of the United States purchasing Greenland, an idea floated during the president-elect's first term in office.
In his first term, Trump tweeted an image of coastal Greenland with an edited, glossy Trump tower building superimposed on the landscape. It was captioned, "I promise not to do this to Greenland!"
In August 2019, President Trump confirmed to reporters that he was interested in purchasing Greenland, an idea that raised both curiosity and debate.
"Denmark essentially owns it," Trump said. "We’re very good allies with Denmark, we protect Denmark like we protect large portions of the world. So the concept came up and I said, ‘Certainly I’d be.’ Strategically it’s interesting and we’d be interested but we’ll talk to them a little bit. It’s not No. 1 on the burner, I can tell you that."
The Wall Street Journal first reported Trump’s interest, citing sources who said he had mentioned the idea with "varying degrees of seriousness."
The idea was shelved after Joe Biden took office in 2021, but has resurfaced online in the wake of Trump's victory earlier this month.
Republican Congressman Mike Collins of Georgia posted what appears to be an electoral map featuring Greenland on November 7, with the territory voting GOP. It was captioned, "Project 2029."
Since then, a member of parliament in Denmark has pushed back on the idea of the United States purchasing Greenland as an American territory. According to a post from Rasmus Jarlov, the Danish parliament does not intend to offer the territory to anyone, especially the United States.
"Greenlandic independence requires approval by the Danish parliament[sic] and a change of our constitution," wrote Jarlov. "I can guarantee you that there is no way we would approve indepence[sic] so that you could buy Greenland. Nice fantasy but forget it."
This is far from the first time that the United States has considered purchasing the strategically beneficial Arctic landmass.
After World War II, President Harry Truman offered Denmark $100 million for it in 1946, but Denmark refused.
The idea actually came up earlier in 1945, when Senator Owen Brewster, R-Maine, called Greenland a "military necessity" supported by American military leaders.
In 1946, a State Department official noted that the Joint Chiefs of Staff believed the U.S. should aim to purchase the territory. That December, Secretary of State James Byrnes even made an offer directly to Denmark’s Foreign Minister Gustav Rasmussen, suggesting a sale might be the simplest solution.
American interest in Greenland goes back even further. In 1867, the State Department explored buying both Greenland and Iceland, recognizing their strategic importance.
If Denmark hypothetically agrees to sell Greenland to the United States, it would be the largest expansion of American territory in history, topping 1803's Louisiana Purchase.
