US-Led Coalition Carries Out Nine Airstrikes Against Daesh Near Syria’s Raqqa

The US-led air forces launched 16 strikes in Syria and Iraq against the Daesh targets, according to Operation Inherent Resolve joint task force.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US-led coalition against the Islamic State, also known as Daesh, carried out 16 airstrikes in Syria and Iraq on Monday, including nine near the group’s de facto capital of Raqqa, Operation Inherent Resolve joint task force said in a press release.

"Near Ar Raqqah, nine strikes engaged three ISIL [Islamic State or Daesh] tactical units; destroyed six VBIEDs, three tactical vehicles, a bridge, a fighting position, and a supply cache," the release stated on Tuesday.

A coalition airstrike near the city of Abu Kamal destroyed an oil well head, and two strikes near Ayn Isa, located about 34 miles from the Raqqa city center, destroyed two Daesh fighting positions.

Earlier Tuesday, media reported that a senior Daesh commander, known as Abu Jandal al-Kuwaiti, was killed in an airstrike near the village of Jabar, near the Tabqa Dam in Raqqa province.

In Iraq, coalition forces carried out four airstrikes on Tuesday, the task force said.

One strike near Bashir destroyed buildings, an observation post and a weapons cache, while three strikes near the city of Mosul destroyed multiple Daesh assets, including VBIEDS and VBIED factories, buildings, vehicles and supply routes.

The US-led coalition of more than 60 nations has been conducting airstrikes against the Daesh in Syria and Iraq since 2014. The strikes in Syria are not authorized by the government of President Bashar Assad or the United Nations Security Council.

The Daesh is outlawed in the United States, Russia and many other countries.