US-led airstrikes target 10 IS positions in Syria

Beirut, Sep 24 (IANS/EFE) Warplanes of the US-led coalition Wednesday launched attacks targeting 10 positions of the Islamic State (IS) Sunni radical group in the town of al-Bukamal in the eastern Syrian province of Deir al-Zur, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported.

The airstrikes were similar to those carried out Tuesday by aircraft of the US-led coalition, SOHR said, citing witnesses in the area.

The raids targeted barracks and bases of the Sunni extremists in areas near the Syrian border town of al-Bukamal.

An activist, Mohammed al-Khalif, told Efe news agency that the attacks targeted checkpoints and an industrial school which was taken over as a base by the IS.

The jihadis, who transported their dead and wounded to Iraq, did not allow civilians to leave their homes so they could not see the damage the IS facilities have sustained, al-Khalif added.

According to a SOHR report earlier Wednesday, fighter planes flying from Turkey struck IS positions.

The raids took place at dawn in the vicinity of Kobani in the largely Kurdish-populated region which is a major IS stronghold.

NATO maintains a large airbase in Turkey at Incirlik but the nationality of the warplanes was not immediately clear.

Quoting witnesses in the area, the London-based NGO which monitors the conflict in Syria said the planes were from the US-led international coalition which is fighting to "degrade and destroy" the IS in Syria and Iraq.

The raids targeted IS supply lines and other positions between 30 and 35 km from Kobani.

In a related development, heavy fighting between the jihadis and Kurdish forces was reported early Wednesday around 10 km from the city.

The coalition raids Tuesday hit targets in the cities of Aleppo, al-Hasakah, Raqaa and Deir al-Zur.

Last week, the IS launched an offensive to seize control of Kobani and its environs, forcing more than 200,000 people to seek refuge in Turkey.

On Monday, the United States began air strikes on the IS in Syria, along with warplanes from nations which have joined the U.S-led coalition.

--IANS/EFE

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