WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — “In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted four airstrikes using attack, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft,” CENTCOM said. “Separately in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 18 airstrikes approved by the Iraqi Ministry of Defense using attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL [Islamic State] terrorists.”
The airstrikes continued against targets in the northeast of Syria, despite recent Islamic State advances northwest of Aleppo that threaten to overrun the strategic town of Azaz and the Bab al-Salameh border crossing to Turkey, key supply points for Syrian rebels.
Syrian rebel groups — in particular the umbrella Islamist group Army of Conquest — have voiced criticism over the United States unwillingness strike Islamic State positions as the terrorist group advanced in northwest Syria over the past week.
The Army of Conquest includes Ahrar al-Sham and the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front, and cooperates with more moderate Syrian factions against the Syrian army and the Islamic State.
In Iraq, government continues to struggle after the Islamic State took Ramadi, the capital of the Anbar province. On Tuesday, anti-Islamic State Coalition members and Iraqi officials met in France to discuss strategy to defeat the Islamic State.
More than 4,000 Coalition airstrikes have so far failed to stem the advances of the Islamic State.
The Coalition has carried out airstrikes against the Islamic State since August 2014.
