U.S.-led airstrikes targeted Syrian oil installations held by Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) overnight and early Thursday, killing nearly 20 people as the militants released dozens of detainees in their de facto capital, fearing further raids, activists said.
The latest strikes came on the third day of a U.S.-led air campaign aimed at rolling back ISIS in Syria, and as CBS News' David Martin reports, they didn't target ISIS militants and weapons as the attacks earlier in the week, but infrastructure used by the militant group to rake in money.
Martin says 12 small-scale oil refineries were hit in the eastern desert of Syria. According to the Pentagon, the refineries produced between 300 and 500 barrels of petroleum a day, which ISIS used to power its own vehicles and to sell on the black market, bringing in up to $2 million every day in revenue.
The strikes were carried out by the U.S. Air Force and by aircraft from the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Arab jets hit seven of the refineries and American aircraft the other five, says Martin, and a total of 18 aircraft took part. All of them returned safely to their bases. Along the way, one of the jets spotted an ISIS vehicle and attacked it as well.
Pentagon officials said initial indications were that all 12 of the refineries were knocked out of commission, but Martin points out that ISIS still has other sources of revenue, such as robbing banks and demanding ransom for kidnapping victims.Read the rest of the story HERE and view a related video below:
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2 comments:
ISIS is funded by Assad? I don't think so. Oil refineries are used to make money for ISIS? This does not compute.
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