Airstrikes continue against IS targets in Syria, Iraq

Washington: The US-led coalition continues to conduct airstrikes against the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group in Syria and Iraq over the past two days, the US Defense Department has said.  During the period, fighter and bomber aircraft conducted a total of nine airstrikes in Syria and 22 airstrikes in Iraq, the Defense Department said in a statement on Thursday.  Airstrikes in Syria’s Al Hasakah and Kobani destroyed seven IS tactical units, five IS fighting positions, three IS vehicles, an IS mortar position, an IS warehouse, an IS building, an IS bunker and an IS checkpoint, Xinhua news agency reported citing the statement.  Meanwhile, airstrikes in Iraq’s Asad, Qaim, Beji, Mosul, Sinjia, Fallujah and Ramadi destroyed 16 IS tactical units, four IS weapons caches, seven IS buildings, six IS vehicles, four IS fighting positions, four IS staging points, five IS excavators and an IS heavy machine gun, it added.  Coalition nations conducting airstrikes in Iraq include the US, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Netherlands and Britain. Coalition countries conducting airstrikes in Syria include the US, Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.