'' CNN '' reported that on 26 November , a U.S. drone strike in Raqqa killed Boubaker Hakim , a senior ISIL terrorist suspected of enabling the Sousse terrorist attack as he had connections to the Tunisian ISIL cell that carried out the attack and the Bardo National Museum attack . Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said , " His removal degrades ISIL 's ability to conduct further attacks in the West and denies ISIL a veteran extremist with extensive ties . " '' Stars and Stripes '' reported that in November 2016 , airmen from the 621st Contingency Response Wing with a contingent of civil engineers , intelligence personnel , and security forces were temporarily deployed to expand and modify the airstrip that the airmen had established earlier in 2016 at an airbase where they deployed to near Kobani , so it can be used to assist in the offensive to retake Raqqa . The airbase gave the U.S. an additional location for its aircraft to support the Coalition and other anti-ISIL forces , but it had been used by U.S. forces limitedly due to the condition of the runway which restricted what types of aircraft could land there . General Carlton Everhart II , commander of U.S. Air Mobility Command , said that the base enabled aircraft to deliver critical supplies , equipment and help position forces ; he added that airmen from the 621st group have supported anti-ISIL coalition forces on the ground in Syria
Bardo National Museum attack
Bardo National Museum attack
American-led intervention in the Syrian Civil War