US airstrikes across Iraq, Syria continue, Obama ‘not tolerate safe havens for terrorists’
President Obama continued to note that five Arab nations are aligned with the U.S. against the Islamic State in Syria so it “makes it clear to the world this is not America’s fight alone.” The President promised a continued fight on Tuesday saying it was vital to the security of his country, the Middle East and the world.
“Once again, it must be clear to anyone who would plot against America and do Americans harm that we will not tolerate safe havens for terrorists who threaten our people,” he said.
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US Central Command said in a statement on Wednesday that US-led coalition have launched five airstrikes on the Islamic State militants – two of them hit the Syrian territory, while three others hit Iraq.
Pentagon officials told NBC News that that the airstrike northwest of Al Qaim damaged eight vehicles linked to the Islamic militants. The strike in Iraq west of Baghdad targeted two vehicles and a weapons cache, while the terrorists’ “fighting positions” were hit southeast of Erbil.
The main target of the strikes was an area used by the Islamic State’s (also known as ISIS/ISIL) militants to move equipment from Syria across the border into Iraq, Rear Adm. John Kirby also told CNN.
Obama is not without his anti-war critics who noted that Syria is now the seventh country in as many years to be bombed by the U.S. during the tenure of the Nobel Peace Prize winner.
The plan is to use foreign fighters, cut off financing, and lead a major effort to “reclaim Islam by Muslims,” US Secretary of State John Kerry told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, a Syrian government minister said that the fight against IS militants is going in “right direction”, as Damascus has been kept informed and there have been no civilian casualties or damage to Syrian military targets.
“What has happened so far is proceeding in the right direction in terms of informing the Syrian government and by not targeting Syrian military installations and not targeting civilians,” Ali Haidar, minister for national reconciliation, told Reuters on Wednesday.
