Elsewhere in Syria, Syrian government troops hug each other in celebration inside the Kweiras air base, east of Aleppo, Syria, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015. Syrian government forces broke a siege imposed by the Islamic State group on the northern military air base of Kweiras since 2013.(SANA via AP)
The Kurds, with some nice air support from the US-led coalition, just put a big hurt on ISIS forces
Hours into Thursday’s operation, the Kurdish Regional Security Council said its forces controlled a section of Highway 47, which passes by Sinjar and indirectly links the militants’ two biggest strongholds — Raqqa in Syria and Mosul in northern Iraq — as a route for goods, weapons and fighters.
Coalition-backed Kurdish fighters on both sides of the border are trying to retake parts of that corridor as part of Operation Free Sinjar.
“By controlling Highway 47, which is used by Daesh to transport weapons, fighters, illicit oil, and other commodities that fund their operations, the coalition intends to increase pressure … and isolate their components from each other,” a coalition statement said.
The coalition said 24 airstrikes were carried out in the past day, striking nine militant tactical units, nine staging areas and destroying 27 fighting positions, among other targets. Coalition aircraft have conducted more than 250 airstrikes in the past month across northern Iraq.
Looks like Vladimir Putin may have shamed us into taking more decisive actions in support of our own allies.
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