The warplanes hit 12 modular oil refineries located in remote areas of eastern Syria, the Defense Department said. U.S. officials said the latest airstrikes on Wednesday aimed at cutting off a key source of income for Islamic State forces, which smuggle oil from captured Syrian infrastructure and sell it on the black market.
U.S., Allies Target Islamic State Oil Assets
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Officials said the strikes wouldn’t target fixed oil fields, a precaution intended to minimize the potential for environmental damage. The U.S. instead targeted small capacity mobile refineries used by Islamic State around northeastern Raqqa province and other locations in eastern Syria, officials said.
The modular refineries produce between 300 and 500 barrels of refined oil a day, the defense department said in a statement. The military said that initial indications were that the strikes were successful. The make-shift refineries are located near the towns of Al-Mayadeen and Albukamal in the eastern oil-rich province of Deir Ezzour and in adjacent al-Hasakah province, the Defense Department said.
Islamic State uses the mobile refineries to process oil from the Syrian fields into diesel fuel. The diesel fuel is then smuggled across the border into Turkey.
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