US-Led Coalition Carries Out 17 Strikes Against Daesh Near Raqqa

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US-led coalition carried out 28 strikes consisting of 70 engagements against the Islamic State [Daesh] (banned in Russia) in Syria and Iraq on Tuesday, including 17 strikes near Raqqa, the US Central Command said in a press release.

"Near Raqqah, 17 strikes engaged 10 ISIS [Islamic State] tactical units and destroyed seven fighting positions, two ISIS bridges, two vehicles, an ISIS boat, and an ISIS communications tower," the release stated on Wednesday.

The Syrian Democratic Forces, backed by the US-led coalition, announced on Tuesday the beginning of the final assault on Raqqa to liberate the city from the Islamic State.

Two additional strikes near Abu Kamal and Tabqa in Syria destroyed three vehicles and a front-end loader and engaged an Daesh tactical unit. The report also included one strike against pro-Syrian government forces carried out near al-Tanf.

In Iraq, the coalition conducted seven strikes consisting of 35 engagements against  targets near Bayji, Mosul and Rawah. A single strike near Bayji engaged a tactical unit and destroyed staging areas and two vehicles, while two strikes near Rawah engaged a tactical unit and destroyed a warehouse, headquarters and four staging areas.

Four strikes near Mosul engaged Daesh tactical units, destroyed 20 fighting positions, weapons, supplies, a rocket-propelled grenade system, a mortar system and damaged other assets and a fighting position.

The US-led coalition of 69 members is conducting airstrikes, ground-based and rocket-propelled artillery fire against the Daesh in Syria and Iraq. The strikes in Iraq are conducted in support of the Iraqi government, but those in Syria are not authorized by the UN Security Council or the government of President Bashar Assad.