U.S., Partners Continue Airstrikes Against ISIL

From a U.S. Central Command News Release

TAMPA, Fla., Oct. 14, 2014 - U.S. and partner-nation military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria yesterday and today, using bomber and fighter aircraft to conduct 22 airstrikes, U.S. Central Command officials reported.

Separately, Centcom officials said, U.S. military forces used attack aircraft yesterday to conduct an airstrike against ISIL in Iraq.

In Syria, 21 airstrikes near Kobani destroyed two ISIL staging locations and damaged another, destroyed one ISIL building and damaged two others, damaged three ISIL compounds, destroyed one ISIL truck, destroyed one ISIL armed vehicle and one other ISIL vehicle, officials said.

As part of these strikes, an additional seven ISIL staging areas, two ISIL mortar positions, three ISIL occupied buildings and an ISIL artillery storage facility were struck. A strike near Dayr az Zawr struck a modular oil refinery. Initial indications are that these strikes were successful, officials said.

These airstrikes are designed to interdict ISIL reinforcements and resupply and prevent ISIL from massing combat power on the Kurdish held portions of Kobani, officials explained.

Saudi Arabia also participated

To conduct these strikes, U.S. forces used fighter and bomber aircraft deployed to the Centcom area of operations. In addition, officials said, fighter aircraft from Saudi Arabia participated in these airstrikes.

Centcom continues to closely monitor the situation in Kobani, officials said, and indications are that airstrikes have slowed ISIL advances. But the security situation on the ground there remains fluid, they added, with ISIL attempting to gain territory and Kurdish militia continuing to hold out.

In Iraq, one strike southwest of Kirkuk destroyed an ISIL armed vehicle and another ISIL vehicle.

All aircraft departed the strike areas safely, Centcom officials said.