MOSCOW, September 25 (RIA Novosti) – The US-led coalition to combat the Islamic State (IS) targeted oil facilities in Syria during its the third night of airstrikes. These strikes killed five civilians, including one child, and 14 IS fighters, the AFP reported on Thursday, quoting the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The militants were killed in strikes in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor, and the civilians died in raids in northeastern Hasakeh, the news agency quotes the Observatory as saying.
The strikes were largely aimed at oil refineries which had supposedly been captured by IS. However, according to Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman, at least one IS checkpoint was on the target list.
The overnight strikes involved aircraft from the US, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the agency quotes Pentagon officials as saying.
On Wednesday, the US Department of Defense said in a press release that the US Central Command (CENTCOM), alone and with the aid of allied nations, had carried out 198 airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria since August.
