Saturday, May 28, 2016

Coalition warplanes pummel ISIS in Syria bastion

ISIS terrorist in Raqqa, Syria (file)
ISIS terrorist in Raqqa, Syria (file)
Reuters


Warplanes from the American-led coalition on Friday pounded the Islamic State (ISIS) group with at least 150 strikes to bolster a major offensive on the jihadists' Syrian stronghold of Raqa, a monitor said.

The U.S. is backing twin assaults against ISIS -- one in Raqa province and another which aims to retake the Iraqi city of Fallujah across the border.

A Kurdish-Arab alliance is being supported by coalition air raids as well as Amer5ican forces on the ground in its push for territory north of Raqa city -- ISIS's de facto Syrian capital.

Turkey on Friday said it was "unacceptable" that U.S. troops had been seen near Raqa wearing insignia of Kurdish militia who belong to the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and who Ankara regards as a terror group.

The coalition has been providing air support to the SDF with 150 strikes on ISIS positions since the assault began Tuesday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitor.
"There has been a serious intensification of air strikes," Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said. READ MORE