US-led coalition aircraft have conducted a series of air strikes targeting the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa in eastern Syria, killing at least 10 militants and wounding many others, in one of the largest such operations in the country to date.At least 16 air strikes were reported late on Saturday and early on Sunday. The US-led coalition often targets Isis-held towns and cities in Syria, but the overnight strikes on Raqqa were unusual in their intensity.
A US military spokesman said the air strikes had destroyed Isis-controlled structures and transit routes. “The significant air strikes tonight were executed to deny Daesh the ability to move military capabilities throughout Syria and into Iraq,” said Lt Col Thomas Gilleran, using the Arabic acronym for Isis.
“This was one of the largest deliberate engagements we have conducted to date in Syria, and it will have debilitating effects on Daesh’s ability to move” from Raqqa, he said.
Raqqa is the de facto capital of the Iraqi and Syrian territory Isis declared an Islamic caliphate a year ago.
An Isis-affiliated website confirmed the strikes on the centre of the city, saying 10 people had been killed and dozens wounded. It also published photographs purportedly showing victims, including two of young boys, and suggested they were civilians.
A Raqqa-based anti-Isis network said eight civilians including a 10-year-old child had been killed. The report could not be independently confirmed.
The network, called Raqqa is Being Silently Slaughtered, said at least one air strike targeted a group of Isis members in the city centre. Another targeted an checkpoint and a third destroyed large parts of a brick factory.
In the remote north-eastern city of Hassake, Isis suicide bombers detonated a truck packed with explosives near a main power plant on Sunday. The state-run Sana news agency reported casualties and material damage at the plant on the southern edge of the city.
Fighting has intensified in Hassake since Isis attacked several southern neighbourhoods held by government troops this month. The violence has prompted tens of thousands of residents to flee.
The predominantly Kurdish city was split between government forces and Kurdish fighters, who have been fighting Isis separately.
In Iraq, a defence ministry statement said government forces had repelled an Isis attack on the town of Haditha and a nearby dam in western Anbar province on Sunday morning.
At least 20 militants were killed in the failed attack, the statement said. Iraqi forces backed by Shia militias have struggled to recapture northern and western areas of the country from the militants.
In May, Isis overran Ramadi, the provincial capital of Anbar, but Haditha and other towns remain under government control.
Original Article
Source: theguardian.com/
Author: Associated Press in Beirut
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