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In an exclusive interview with CNN, a Syrian fighter with the group known as the Islamic State or ISIS said they were prepared for US airstrikes within Syria and the damage done against the organization was ineffective.A Syrian ISIS fighter operating under the pseudonym Abu Tahla told CNN through Skype that the US and coalition airstrikes within Syria were expected. "We've been ready for this for some time," Abu Talha said. "We know that our bases are known because they're tracking us with radars and satellites, so we had backup locations."The ISIS headquarters that were targeted were emptied out, and...

* British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, gather information from sources in Syria * They say missile set grain silo ablaze in ISIS town of Manbij, northern Syria * Claim two civilians killed including 'workers who provide food for people' * IS fighters 'also died in a strike on a building on the town's outskirts' * US says there is 'no evidence' any civilians were killed in the strike * Group count at least 19 civilians killed so far in coalition airstrikes * US-led coalition has been targeting ISIS-controlled towns in Syria since last week At least two civilian workers...

(Reuters) - Iraqi Kurdish forces captured a strategic border crossing and several villages from Islamic State fighters in northern Iraq on Tuesday, scoring gains as the militants were pounded by heavy U.S.-led air strikes and the Iraqi army advanced from the south. An Iraqi Kurdish political source said Kurdish peshmerga fighters took control of the Rabia border crossing with Syria in a battle that began before dawn. "It's the most important strategic point for crossing. Once that's taken it's going to cut the supply route and make the operation to reach Sinjar easier," the source said, referring to a mountain...

The White House says it wants to work with Syria’s moderate rebels. But warplanes from the U.S.-led coalition came awfully close to striking one of their HQs. Last week, an airstrike from the American-led coalition nearly hit a command-and-control facility affiliated with the Free Syrian Army, the moderate rebels the Obama administration says are America’s “boots on the ground,” according to two opposition leaders. They are asking the Obama administration to please coordinate with them in the future before America bombs its only allies in Syria. Since U.S. airstrikes against ISIS in Syria began on Sept. 22, there has been...

Islamic State militants in western Iraq. Photo: ISIS video ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—Large numbers of Islamic State (IS) militants withdrew from Shingal region on Monday and headed to the Syrian border, Kurdish Peshmerga forces told Rudaw. “Around sunset a convoy of about 30 IS vehicles left the area and drove towards the Syrian border,” said Haji Ibrahim, a veteran Yezidi Peshmerga. Ibrahim said that the IS militants were holding their front lines against the Peshmerga forces until Monday. Ibrahim said that the IS positions around Shingal have been the target of intense US airstrikes in the past few weeks. IS...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: This morning on CBS This Morning. Holly Williams is the foreign correspondent for CBS News, and she was reporting about the war against ISIS in Syria and the impact of US air strikes there. WILLIAMS: The fighters in Mahmoodin village told us that the US-led air strikes against ISIS in Syria have so far had very little impact on the ground. Like many people, in this part of the world, they would like to see more of them. RUSH: What? What? What? Whoa, whoa! Wait, wait, wait. That's not right. Last week John Kerry said that they...

Iraq’s military has halted Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) militants 40 kilometers outside of Baghdad according to news agency reports, stalling a potentially devastating drive toward the Iraqi capital. Iraqi airstrikes on Sunday held the jihadist fighters at Ameriyat al-Fallujah, a strategic town west of Baghdad and south of ISIS-controlled Fallujah. But panic spread in the capital as rumors circulated of IS attacks in the city’s immediate suburbs. Amid confusion on the ground about the exact location of IS fighters, the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East, an Anglican group, wrote on its Facebook account that the...

The U.S.-led coalition hit Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) targets around a Syrian town on the Turkish border Sept. 27 where tens of thousands have fled a jihadist assault, a monitoring group said. The reported strikes around the mainly Kurdish town of Ain al-Arab, known as Kobane in Kurdish, came as the U.S.-led coalition widened its air war against ISIL targets in Syria as part of "near continuous" raids against the jihadists. It was the second time that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights had reported U.S.-led air strikes around the town since the launch of the...

September 27, 2014 US Airstrikes Pound Islamic State Targets by VOA News A Syrian watchdog group says airstrikes, likely carried out by U.S.-led forces, hit Islamic State targets Saturday in Syria. The Britain-based Observatory for Human Rights says coalition warplanes struck Aleppo province near al-Etihad University; an Islamic State headquarters.   The Observatory says "31 massive explosions" were heard in the province of Raqqa, an Islamic State stronghold, and casualties were reported. The monitoring group reported warplanes also struck areas east of the desert town of Palmyra in Homs province Saturday. American fighter jets, drones and other aircraft also pounded...

BEIRUT, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Air and missile strikes, hit oilfields overnight and early Friday. U.S. started bombing in northern and eastern Syria on Tuesday. The United States has been bombing the al Qaeda splinter group "Islamic State" since last month. Missile and air strikes near the city of al-Mayadin, and the al-Tanak oilfields in Deir al-Zor, an area (now) almost entirely controlled by the splinter group had been major oil-producing al-Quriyah resource region. Oil has been a top source of revenue for al Qaeda and the administration supported Brotherhood. Air raids on Thursday are a first step, to restore...

The UK Parliament has backed British participation in air strikes against Islamic State extremists in Iraq. After a seven-hour debate, MPs voted for military action by 524 votes to 43. The Conservatives, Lib Dems and Labour leaderships all backed air strikes although some MPs expressed concerns about where it would lead and the prospect of future engagement in Syria. The BBC's political editor Nick Robinson said RAF planes could be called into action as early as Sunday. Speaking after the vote, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said a long campaign lay ahead and there would not be a "series of immediate...

BRITAIN WILL go to war again after politicians today voted overwhelmingly to join airstrikes against the so-called Islamic State terrorist group. RAF jets could now fly bombing missions over Iraq within hours after all three major parties backed action against the brutal regime, which David Cameron called a "clear" threat to Britain. The vote comes amid warnings that the action to defeat the Islamic terrorists could take years. Initially British airstrikes will only take place over Iraq, despite the IS group controlling areas of Syria in its bid to establish an Islamic caliphate across the Middle East. The vote comes...

US-led air strikes on Islamic State (IS) militants have destroyed four tanks and damaged another during a fourth night of bombardments in Syria. ... The Danish government says it is sending seven F-16 fighter jets to join anti-IS operations - but only in Iraq.

US to have three military bases in Kurdistan News / Kurdistan US to Build Three Military Bases in Kurdistan Region 26.09.2014    BasNews, Erbil    Pentagon is planning to build three different military bases in Iraqi Kurdistan region in a near future.   According to Kurdish sources, Washington wants to build more military presence in the region in the wake of recent Islamic State (IS) militants against Kurdistan region in northern Iraq.   BasNews has learned through a close source from the matter, that United States to build three military bases in Erbil and around the Kurdistan Capital.  ...

This week, coalition forces took the fight against ISIS to Syria where the Islamic State not only maintains most of its command and control infrastructure but also its petroleum-based sources of revenue. Ed Morrissey has the details on coalition strikes which for the first time targeted mobile petroleum refineries under ISIS control. “[CBS News reporter David] Martin says 12 small-scale oil refineries were hit in the eastern desert of Syria,” a CBS report revealed. “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...

WATCH How This Gutsy ‘First’ Of A Kind Fighter Pilot Is Blowing Up Both ISIS Targets And Stereotypes Even as women in parts of the Arab world fight the prohibition against their driving a car on public roads... Even as women in parts of the Arab world fight the prohibition against their driving a car on public roads, one extraordinary Arab woman is driving an F-16 in the fight against Islamic State terrorism. Fox News confirms that 35-year-old Major Mariam Al Mansouri — the first female air force pilot from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) — has taken part in...

Six Dutch F-16 fighter bombers and six Belgian ones are to join the U.S.-led air campaign against the Islamic State group in Iraq, officials said on Wednesday. "The Netherlands will make six F-16s available for the first phase of the campaign, for one year," Dutch Deputy Prime Minister Lodewijk Asscher told reporters after an emergency cabinet meeting in The Hague. Earlier in the day, the Belgian government said it plans to send six F-16 fighter jets to join the anti-IS coalition but will limit their use to Iraq. The Belgian parliament must still approve the move, which follows a formal...

She’s raining bombs on terrorist thugs. The first female pilot in the United Arab Emirates' air force is reportedly taking part in the coalition air strikes against ISIS militants hiding in Syria.

The Pentagon is deploying 300 airmen and 12 A-10 combat jets to the Middle East in early October, according to the Indiana Air National Guard.

U.S. and coalition warplanes pounded ISIS positions in eastern Syria on Wednesday, targeting what a Pentagon official described as mobile oil refineries being used by the so-called Islamic State terror group.