US-Led Coalition Strikes Destroy Daesh Drone Facility Near Raqqa

The US-led coalition air forces launched 24 strikes in Syria and Iraq against the Daesh targets, according to Operation Inherent Resolve.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US-led coalition in Iraq and Syria conducted 24 strikes consisting of 67 engagements against the Russian-outlawed terror group Islamic State [Daesh] on Wednesday, including 13 that destroyed an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) facility near the city of Raqqa, Operation Inherent Resolve said in a press release.

"Near Ar Raqqah, 13 strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units and destroyed four fighting positions, an IED, a weapons storage facility, a storage facility, a VBIED facility, a UAV facility, a logistics facility, and an ammunition cache," the release stated on Thursday.

Four additional strikes in Syria destroyed two well heads, two tanker trucks, a front-end loader and bulldozer and damaged a bridge near Deir ez-Zor.

In Iraq, the coalition carried out seven strikes consisting of 47 engagements. One strike each near Bayji and Kirkuk engaged two Daesh tactical units and destroyed a supply cache.

Near Mosul, where coalition forces are backing an Iraqi-led offensive to oust Daesh from the western part of the city, the coalition conducted five strikes that destroyed 11 fighting positions, four mortar systems, a machine gun and artillery system, a rocket-propelled grenade system and two vehicles.

The Mosul strikes also engaged three Daesh tactical units, damaged 17 supply routes and three buildings and suppressed six mortar teams and three tactical units.

The US-led coalition of 68 nations is conducting airstrikes, ground-based and rocket-propelled artillery fire against the Daesh in Syria and Iraq. The strikes in Iraq are conducted in support of the Iraqi government, but those in Syria are not authorized by the government of President Bashar Assad or the UN Security Council.