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Airstrikes hit Islamic State targets in Syria for second day U.S. and Arab aircraft attack oil refineries seized by Islamic State in Syria
(about 9 hours later)
BEIRUT — Airstrikes hit Islamic State strongholds and near frontline positions inside Syria on Wednesday in a second day of attacks by a U.S.-led coalition. BEIRUT — The U.S. military and two Arab allies on Wednesday bombarded a dozen small-scale oil refineries in eastern Syria as part of an expanding campaign to cut off key sources of financing and fuel for the Islamic State, according to the Pentagon.
American warplanes also targeted sites in Iraq, the U.S. military said. U.S. fighter jets and drones, alongside warplanes from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, struck the refineries in remote parts of the Syrian desert one day after a larger wave of airstrikes targeted Islamic State training sites, ammunition depots and command centers in the country, U.S. military officials said. Wednesday’s operation is part of a broader strategy to sever supply lines and transportation corridors connecting Islamic State strongholds in Syria and Iraq, the officials said.
The latest airstrikes in Syria appeared to be less intense than the three waves of attacks unleashed early Tuesday, when 22 separate targets were struck by about 200 missiles, bombs and rockets launched from American warplanes, Navy ships and aircraft contributed by Arab allies. But activists described heavy attacks in eastern Syria near the Iraqi border, a critical supply line for the Islamic State, a radical Sunni armed group that is also known as ISIS or ISIL. The Islamic State is estimated to produce between 25,000 and 40,000 barrels of oil a day, earning as much as $1 million a day, according to industry experts.
In New York, President Obama vowed Wednesday to destroy the group, which he said has spread terror and death across broad areas of Syria and Iraq, committing “the most horrific crimes” including torture, mass killings, rapes and video-recorded beheadings. The attacks on the refineries came on a day when U.S. military forces reported hitting an Islamic State convoy in Syria near the Iraqi border and Syrian opposition groups reported heavy bombardment in areas near Turkey. American planes also carried out four airstrikes in Iraq, U.S. officials said.
“No God condones this terror,” Obama said in a speech to the U.N. General Assembly. “No grievance justifies these actions. There can be no reasoning — no negotiation — with this brand of evil. The only language understood by killers like this is the language of force. So the United States of America will work with a broad coalition to dismantle this network of death.” Islamic State fighters are waging a two-front war in Iraq and Syria, seeking to expand the boundaries of their self-declared caliphate, or state ruled by strict Islamic law. The group is accused of widespread atrocities in both countries and the beheadings of at least three Western hostages.
“We will use our military might in a campaign of airstrikes to roll back ISIL,” Obama added. “Today, I ask the world to join in this effort.” Despite broad resentment of the Islamic State in Syria, the expansion of strikes against the extremist group has been met with mixed reactions in Syria. After more than three years of war, Syrian residents and rebels have expressed frustration that the intervention is not targeting President Bashar al-Assad’s government. Some held small-scale demonstrations Wednesday against the coalition strikes.
The U.S. Central Command said Wednesday that a mix of U.S. attack, bomber and fighter aircraft carried out five new airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria. It said two airstrikes west of Baghdad destroyed two of the extremist group’s armed vehicles and a weapons cache, two more southeast of the northern Kurdish city of Irbil struck Islamic State fighting positions, and a fifth damaged eight of the militants’ vehicles in Syria northwest of the Iraqi border town of Qaim. Eight Islamic State vehicles were hit in an airstrike northwest of the border town of al-Qaim, U.S. Central Command said. Syrian opposition activists said the coalition strikes occurred near Boukamal, where the Islamic State drove out other rebels in July after seizing the al-Qaim border crossing. Islamic State bases and checkpoints were also targeted later in the day, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights group said.
“All aircraft exited the strike areas safely,” the Central Command said in a statement. The organization also said several aerial attacks were carried out near Kobane, a border town with Turkey that has been the site of intense battles between Islamic State fighters and militias from Syria’s Kurdish region in recent weeks.
Citing the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, news agencies said at least 10 airstrikes hit suspected Islamic State positions in and around Bukamal, on the Syrian side of the border northwest of Qaim. Moustafa Oniedi, a Kurdish activist in Marj Ismael, about two miles from Kobane, said there were strikes south of Kobane but that they did not hit active fronts with Islamic State militants. Still, in an area where the radical fighters’ offensive has displaced tens of thousands of people, the intervention was met with enthusiasm.
The group also said several aerial attacks were carried out near Kobane, a key border town with Turkey that has been the site of intense battles between Islamic State fighters and militias from Syria’s Kurdish region. “The strikes triggered a lot of joy,” he said. “People were clapping, chanting and dancing in celebration because the Americans are hitting the region and they believe that the U.S. came to their rescue.”
The Syrian Observatory said the planes came from the direction of Turkey, although Turkey has denied involvement in the air campaign. More than 130,000 refugees fled to Turkey to escape the battles before Turkish authorities closed the border. Hundreds more refugees fled on Wednesday.
Moustafa Oniedi, a Kurdish activist in Marj Ismael, about two miles from Kobane, said there were strikes south of Kobane but that they did not hit active fronts with Islamic State militants. Elsewhere there were small-scale protests. A video purporting to be from Kafranbel town in Idlib province, an area not controlled by Islamic State militants and known for its liberal anti-government opposition, showed a small group of demonstrators taking to the streets.
“However, the strikes triggered a lot of joy,” he said. “People were clapping, chanting and dancing in celebration because the Americans are hitting the region and they believe that the U.S. came to their rescue.” In another scene from the town, captured in a photo, the town’s activists held up a sign reading “Americans! If you don’t topple Al-Assad now, don’t boast about democracy.”
More than 130,000 refugees fled to Turkey to escape the battles before Turkish authorities closed the border. Hundreds more refugees sought safe havens Wednesday. This reflects the sentiments of many members of the Syrian opposition who see Assad, not the Islamic State, as the main enemy.
Islamic State fighters are waging a two-front war in Iraq and Syria, seeking to expand the boundaries of their newly self-declared caliphate, or Islamic state, ruled by strict Islamic law. The group is accused of widespread atrocities in both countries, including abuses against non-Muslim minorities and the beheadings of at least three Western hostages. Another video posted on social media from the Idlib town of Kafr Tkharam showed a small crowd chanting, “the people want the Islamic State,” and “down with the Western-Arab coalition” in reference to Obama’s allies in the military campaign.
The U.S.-led campaign against the Islamic State has met with mixed reaction from Syria’s many rebel groups, many of which have been fighting the militants since the beginning of the year. “Of course the Syrian Coalition has welcomed the international coalition to join us in our fight against extremism,” said Monzer Akbik, a member of the Syrian political opposition group. “There should be advancement on the ground by the Free Syrian Army to liberate those areas.”
President Obama has proposed increasing military aid and training to “moderate” Syrian rebels to escalate the pressures on the Islamic State and other Islamist factions. Further muddying the picture are the U.S. strikes against the so-called Khorasan group, which is embedded with Jabhat al-Nusra, an al-Qaeda-linked group that has popular support in Syria. Some 50 Nusra fighters were killed in a strike on Tuesday, rebels said.
“Of course the Syrian Coalition has welcomed the international coalition to join us in our fight against extremism,” said Monzer Akbik, a member of the Syrian political opposition group. “There should be advancement on the ground by the Free Syrian Army toliberate those areas.” The group was pulling out of its bases on Wednesday, said Ali Bakran, a rebel commander with a brigade linked to the relatively moderate Free Syrian Army. He moved to Turkey from Idlib after the airstrikes began. He said they had taken the decision in order to prevent civilian casualties.
Deane reported from Rome. William Branigin in Washington and Suzan Haidamous in Beirut contributed to this report. “People are so angry,” he said. “For a long time they have been caught between Islamic State and the regime. Now they are caught between Islamic State, the regime and the United States and their coalition’s strikes.”
In Iraq, Islamic State fighters have been pushed out of some towns but have managed to make gains against Iraqi forces in other areas, despite a U.S. bombing campaign that began on August 8. The extremist group said in a statement on Wednesday that it killed about 300 soldiers in an attack on an Iraqi army camp in the western province of Anbar on Sunday.
Whitlock reported from Washington. Suzan Haidamous in Beirut, Loveday Morris and Mustafa Salim in Baghdad, Daniela Deane in Rome and William Branigin in Washington contributed to this report.