Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
BEIRUT (AP) — U.S. warplanes have again bombed Islamic State militant positions today on both sides of the Syria-Iraq border.
The airstrikes came a day after the U.S. and five Arab allies opened their military operation against the militant group in Syria with more than 200 strikes on some two dozen targets.
President Barack Obama has said the campaign could last years. It expands on the aerial assault the U.S. has already been waging for more than a month against the extremists in Iraq.
According to U.S. Central command, the latest U.S. strikes -- by bombers and fighter jets -- damaged eight Islamic State vehicles in Syria near the Iraqi border. The statement also says two Islamic State armed vehicles west of Baghdad were hit, along with two militant fighting positions in northern Iraq.
A Pentagon spokesman says the strikes in eastern Syria hit a staging area used by the militants to move equipment across the border into Iraq.
%@AP Links
136-a-06-(President Barack Obama, in speech to U.N. General Assembly)-"heart of darkness"-President Obama says the told the U.N. General Assembly that it's his responsibility to lead a coalition to 'dismantle the network of death' that is the Islamic State militant group. (24 Sep 2014)
<<CUT *136 (09/24/14)££ 00:06 "heart of darkness"
142-a-12-(Mohammad (last name withheld due to security concerns), translator and publisher, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, in AP interview)-"and their checkpoints"-A translator for the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, speaking to us from Cairo, says their people in Syria are aware of nearly 50 airstrikes by the U.S.-led international coalition in the past two days. ((note heavy accent)) (24 Sep 2014)
<<CUT *142 (09/24/14)££ 00:12 "and their checkpoints"
APPHOTO CAIMA103: In this image released Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2014 by the official Saudi Press Agency, Saudi pilots sit in the cockpit of a fighter jet as part of U.S.-led coalition airstrikes on Islamic State militants and other targets in Syria that began early Tuesday. Arab countries' prominent role in initial airstrikes against the Islamic State group in Syria shatters the notion of what a typical American-led military operation looks like and won the Mideast allies' praise from U.S. President Barack Obama for their willingness to stand "shoulder-to-shoulder" with the United States. It is a reflection of their growing concern about the threat posed by Islamic extremists, and a chance to flex some military muscle toward regional rival Iran — a key supporter of governments in both Syria and Iraq. The strategy is not without risks. (AP Photo/Saudi Press Agency) (2 Dec 2012)
<<APPHOTO CAIMA103 (12/02/12)££
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
