Friday, February 24, 2017

Iraq carries out airstrikes against ISIS targets in Syria : "in complete coordination" with the Syrian government

The Iraqi prime minister said he had directed the military to conduct airstrikes against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) targets in Syrian territory. The strikes come in response to recent bombings in Baghdad, he added.


"We are determined to chase terrorism that tries to kill our sons and citizens wherever it is found, so we gave orders to the air force command to strike Islamic State positions in Hosaiba and Albu Kamal inside Syrian territory as they were responsible for recent bombings in Baghdad," Haider al-Abbadi said in a statement.

"The heroes of the sky executed the operation and responded to the terrorists with amazing success."

IS claimed responsibility for a deadly attack that took place on February 16 in southern Baghdad, when a car bomb blast ripped through the area, killing at least 45 and injuring dozens.

Albu Kamal was targeted by the US-led coalition earlier this week. On Thursday, three strikes engaged an IS unit and also destroyed four oil refinement stills and a vehicle.

Later in the day, an Iraqi military commander has confirmed the airstrikes "were successful," adding that they involved F-16 fighter jets, AP reported.

A seniour security official told Reuters "the strikes targeted Islamic State's headquarters used for making car bombs in Albu Kamal... after Iraqi intelligence received tips from their sources inside Syria."

Meanwhile, the Iraqi airstrikes were conducted "in complete coordination" with the Syrian government, a source close to Syria's foreign ministry told the news agency. The source chose not to elaborate on the issue.

Later, another foreign ministry source confirmed coordination of the airstrikes to the Syrian government's newspaper Al Watan.

Later in the day, Lebanese broadcaster Al-Mayadeen reported that the Iraqi airstrikes demonstrated “high-level cooperation between two countries' intelligence agencies.” The report said the Friday air raids were ordered after a convoy carrying IS commanders was spotted in the area, adding that coordinated strikes are very likely to happen in the future.
 [rt.com]
24/2/17

1 comment :

  1. The Iraqi air force struck members of ISIS inside neighboring Syria Friday, officials said, adding that the targeted militants were responsible for recent bombings in Baghdad...

    The strike was announced by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in a statement and is believed to be the first of its kind by Iraqi jets on Syrian territory.

    "We ordered the air force command to strike Daesh terrorist sites in Husseibeh and Albu Kamal, in Syrian territory," the premier said, using an Arabic acronym for the extremist organisation.

    "We are determined to track down terrorists trying to kill our sons and citizens wherever they are," he said.

    Both locations cited by Abadi are very close to the border and lie in the Euphrates Valley, facing the remote western Iraqi town of Al-Qaim.

    Husseibeh is a town in Iraq but an area that lies on the Syrian side of the border bares the same name.
    AFP

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