15 more airstrikes launched against Islamic State
Washington: The United States and its coalition partners conducted eight air strikes against Islamic State militants in Syria and seven in Iraq since early Thursday..
In a statement on Friday, the Combined Joint Task Force said the strikes near al Raqqah, Kobani and Dayr az Zawr in Syria hit numerous armored vehicles used by the militant group as well as two units of fighters, among other targets.
Militants from the jihadist group had attacked the Ain al-Asad base and the nearby town of al-Baghdadi a day earlier, leading to sporadic clashes in the town overnight. Al-Baghdadi has been besieged for months by Islamic State, which captured swathes of northern and western Iraq last year, prompting a campaign of US-led air strikes and the deployment of hundreds of US military advisers to the country.
A US defence official said the Iraqi forces had stopped the attack and re-secured the facility.
“Coalition forces were several kilometres from the attack and at no stage were they under direct threat from this action,” the official said.
About 320 US marines are training members of the Iraqi 7th Division at the base, which has been struck by mortar fire on at least one previous occasion since December.
Iraq’s defence ministry said on its website the Iraqi army killed eight assailants near the base, which is about 85 km (50 miles) northwest of Ramadi.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, a moderate Shi’ite Islamist who since taking office in September has promised to support the neglected Sunni minority community, said the army was prioritising the western Sunni province in its fight against Islamic State.
