US-Led Coalition Conducts Nine Airstrikes Near Syria’s Raqqa

The US-led coalition air forces conducted 23 airstrikes in Syria and Iraq against the Daesh targets, according to Operation Inherent Resolve.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US-led coalition against the Daesh carried out 23 airstrikes consisting of 42 engagements in Syria and Iraq on Thursday, including nine airstrikes near the Syrian city of Raqqa, Operation Inherent Resolve said in a press release.

"Near Ar Raqqah, nine strikes engaged an ISIL [Islamic State] tactical unit and destroyed 10 oil refinement stills, five oil storage tanks, three oil pump jacks, an ISIL-held building, and two oil tanker trucks," the release stated on Friday.

The coalition carried out one airstrike each near Ab Kamal, At Tanf and Deir ez-Zor, hitting an oil well head and pump jack and damaging a supply route.

In Iraq, the coalition carried out 11 airstrikes near Al Huwayjah, Haditha, Kisik, Mosul, Sinjar and Tal Afar. The airstrikes engaged Islamic State tactical units and destroyed vehicles, a rocket system, a drone launch site, buildings, explosives facilities, an anti-aircraft system and a command and control node.

The US-led coalition of 68 nations is conducting airstrikes against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. The strikes in Syria are not authorized by the government of President Bashar Assad or the UN Security Council.

The Islamic State, also known as Daesh in Arabic, is outlawed in the United States, Russia and numerous other countries.