Saudi, UAE, U.S. Aircraft Strike IS in Syria

Aircraft from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates joined U.S. warplanes in a new wave of bombing raids Friday against Islamic State jihadists in Syria.

Coalition fighter jets and robotic drone planes conducted six strikes in Syria on Thursday and Friday, hitting militant tanks, oil refineries and a training camp, the U.S. military said.

American aircraft also conducted three air raids in Iraq over the past 24 hours, including two northeast of Fallujah, Central Command said.

In addition to U.S. Air Force warplanes and navy fighter jets flying off on an aircraft carrier in the Gulf, "the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates also participated in the Syria strikes." 

Centcom offered no further details on the precise role of the allied aircraft in the latest strikes, and officials in the five countries that have joined the Syria operation -- Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar -- have been reluctant to share details of their participation.

In Syria, one coalition air strike south of al-Hasakah destroyed an IS garrison, another strike southeast of Deir Ezzor destroyed two tanks, two raids north of Raqa struck two small-scale oil refineries and a "training camp," and a bombing run northeast of Aleppo hit an IS building, Centcom said.

One strike targeting an IS artillery piece west of the jihadist bastion of Raqa "was not successful," Centcom said, without elaborating. 

In Iraq, one U.S. air raid north of Sinjar destroyed two IS armed vehicles, and two strikes northeast of Fallujah struck IS fighters, according to Central Command.

U.S. and coalition aircraft have flown more than 4,000 sorties in an air campaign that began in Iraq on August 8 and was extended to Syria on September 23. The sorties include surveillance flights, refueling runs and bombing raids.