The U.S.-led coalition conducted airstrikes on roads to stop an ISIS convoy of fighters being evacuated from the border region of Lebanon and Syria after a truce deal between the Lebanese army, Hezbollah, and the militants.
Some 300 Islamic State fighters and family members were to be bussed to an ISIS-led town near Syria's eastern border near Iraq, The Telegraph reported. They were loaded on 14 buses and 11 ambulances Monday, but had not moved from Hama province, near ISIS-held Deir Ezzor.
The U.S. declined to strike the convoy itself because of civilians on the buses. Instead the coalition bombed roads to "crater" and disable them from evacuation use, according to CNN.
"The coalition is not a party to the agreement between Lebanese Hezbollah and ISIS," Pentagon spokesman Eric Pahon told CNN. "Russian and pro-regime counter-ISIS words ring hollow when they allow known terrorists to transit territory under their control.
"ISIS is a global threat; relocating terrorists from one place to another for someone else to deal with is not a lasting solution. The coalition is monitoring the movement of these fighters in real-time. In accordance with the law of armed conflict, the coalition will take action against ISIS whenever and wherever we are able to."
The Lebanese army and Hezbollah declared a ceasefire against ISIS on Sunday, CNN reported. ISIS has held nine Lebanese soldiers since 2014 and the country said the ceasefire would allow them to negotiate their release.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, though, condemned the ceasefire along with Kurdish leaders.
"We are not happy with the deal and we consider it a mistake by transferring territories to an area nearby the Syrian-Iraqi border," al-Abadi said at a Baghdad news conference Tuesday, CNN reported. "ISIS is dying and we should not give it a chance to breathe."
The Lebanon-ISIS deal was the first time the militant group had ever publicly agreed to a truce instead of fighting to the death for its territory in Syria and Iraq, according to The Telegraph.