US-led coalition resumes airstrikes against IS in Syria

The US-led air campaign against Islamic State (IS) positions in Syria entered its third day Thursday, Xinhua reported citing Syrian media.

The airstrikes largely focused on the countryside of the eastern Deir al-Zour province and the northwestern province of al-Raqqa.

The families of IS fighters have started fleeing al-Raqqa toward the northeastern countryside of that province, the main stronghold of the terror group.

The Al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, which was also targeted in the US-led airstrikes, also started repositioning in the areas under their control to avert further strikes, the media reports said.

Meanwhile, the Syrian military has been pressing ahead with its war against armed militants amid the US-led airstrikes, a senior Syrian officer told Xinhua Thursday.

"The Syrian military strategic plans in battling the armed terrorist groups have not been affected by the airstrikes the US- led coalition is waging against the Islamic State positions inside Syria," the officer said on condition of anonymity.

The Syrian air force is undertaking a previously-planned operation against targets of militant groups in Syria, conducting 200 airstrikes last Sunday and Monday alone, he said.

According to an Efe news agency report from Washingotn, the US Central Command, in charge of American military operations in the Middle East, said that the raids Wednesday by the US and its Arab allies were carried out by fighter planes and cruise missiles on 12 oil refineries under IS control in remote areas of eastern Syria.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in an interview with CNN that in the latest attacks, the planes of the Arab allies outnumbered those of the US, especially those from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia.

The Central Command said that the airstrikes, which lasted for about two hours, were carried out in the proximity of the cities of Mayadin, Al-Hasakah, Abu Kamal and Deir al Zur.

"We are still evaluating the effectiveness of the attacks on the refineries, but the initial indications suggest success," the Central Command said in a statement.

The refineries were being used by the jihadis to earn more than $2 million per day by selling up to 500 barrels a day, according to American intelligence, although some experts believe the amount could be greater.

Oil sales, along with extortion and looted antiquities, are a major source of income for the IS.

The US-led air offensive against IS positions in Syria began Monday, following weeks of attacks on the jihadis in neighbouring Iraq.

The US and its four Arab allies - Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, and Jordan - with the logistical support of Qatar, bombed several bunkers of the IS in Syria for the first time early Tuesday.