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US forces who bombed
Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters in Syria also targeted a
separate armed group plotting an imminent attack against US and Western
forces, the US defence ministry has said.
Arab allies Bahrain,
Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates took part in the
strikes, which started early on Tuesday, it added.
Eight US airstrikes were
aimed at the Khorasan group which is made up of experienced al-Qaeda
operatives, the Pentagon said in a statement.
"The United States
has also taken action to disrupt the imminent attack plotting against the
United States and Western interests conducted by a network of seasoned
al-Qaeda veterans - sometimes referred to as the Khorasan Group - who have
established a safe haven in Syria to develop external attacks, construct and
test improvised explosive devices and recruit Westerners to conduct
operations," the statement said.
The US military used
fighter jets as well as remotely piloted aircraft and Tomahawk missiles to
conduct 14 strikes against ISIL.
"The strikes
destroyed or damaged multiple ISIL targets... and included ISIL fighters,
training compounds, headquarters and command and control facilities, storage
facilities, a finance center, supply trucks and armed vehicles," the
statement said.
A total of 47 Tomahawk
missiles were fired by US ships in the Red Sea and and the North Arabian
Gulf.
The Khorasan group that
was targeted separately is linked to the Al-Nusra Front, which is the Syrian
affiliate of al-Qaeda.
Tens of ISIL fighters were killed or wounded in the strikes on the
ISIL stronghold of Raqqa and surrounding areas, according to the Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights, which gathers information from a network of
activists on the ground.
More than 20 members of
ISIL were killed in strikes on two of the organisation's positions in Raqqa
province. The strikes completely destroyed the two positions as well as
vehicles stationed there, the monitoring group said.
The US airstrikes against positions of al-Qaeda's Syria affiliate
Al-Nusra Front killed at least 50 fighters, the observatory said, adding that
multiple attacks targeted an area in western
Aleppo province.
At least 120 fighters have been killed in Syria on Tuesday, including
more than 70 members of ISIL and 50 al-Qaeda fighters, according to the
observatory. Eight civilians were killed by US strikes in Aleppo province.
Damascus 'notified'
The Syrian government
said it had received a letter from US Secretary of State John Kerry delivered
by the Iraqi foreign minister telling it that the US and its allies planned
to attack ISIL in Syria.
Russia criticised the
airstrikes, saying a one-sided 'notification' to the Syrian government was
not enough, adding that the strikes would fuel tension in the region.
"Any such action can
be carried out only in accordance with international law," the Russian
foreign ministry said in a statement. "That implies not a formal,
one-sided 'notification' of airstrikes but the presence of explicit consent
from the government of Syria or the approval of a corresponding UN Security
Council decision."
The US military said its
partners in airstrikes included Jordan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the
United Arab Emirates.
Jordan's minister of
information and communication, Mohamamd Al Momani, confirmed his country
participated in the strikes. Momani said the airstrikes would continue in the
coming period.
The minister said Jordan
participated to strike "terrorism in its home in order to protect
Jordan's security and stability and to prevent terrorism from reaching the
kingdom".
The attacks come just two
weeks after the US formed a coalition to confront the ISIL group, which has
taken over large areas of Syria and Iraq and declared a
"caliphate".
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Syrian Kurds urged US
airstrikes against ISIL
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The coalition includes
Nato, non-members including Australia and Arab nations.
The US president, Barack
Obama, said on September 10 that an expanded campaign would degrade and
ultimately destroy the group.
The attacks also come a
day after ISIL's spokesman, Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, called on supporters of
the group to attack foreigners wherever they are.
In a 43-minute video,
Adnani said: "If you can kill a disbelieving American or European -
especially the spiteful and filthy French - or an Australian, or a Canadian,
or any other disbeliever from the disbelievers waging war, including the
citizens of the countries that joined a coalition against the Islamic State,
then rely upon God, and kill him in any manner.''
Al Jazeera's Imran Khan,
reporting from Baghdad, said the timing of the coalition's attacks must been
seen in the context of ISIL's announcement.
"This was a
doctrinal shift by ISIL, previously they maintained they weren't at war with
the US and its allies and that their key goal was to strengthen the
caliphate."
ISIL released another video on Tuesday that appears to show British journalist John Cantlie
criticising preparations for US-led attacks on the group, the SITE monitoring
service reported.
The video appeared to have been recorded before the US-led airstrikes
overnight in Syria.
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