US aircraft bomb IS near contested Syria border town

WASHINGTON — US aircraft renewed bombing raids against Islamic State jihadists in northern Syria on Wednesday, the Pentagon said, in a bid to prevent the militants from overrunning Kurdish fighters trying to defend the strategic town.

American fighter jets and robotic drones carried out three air strikes on Tuesday and Wednesday near the border town of Ain Arab, known as Kobane in Kurdish, US Central Command said in a statement.

The three raids destroyed an IS armed vehicle, an artillery piece and a tank, said Central Command [Centcom], which oversees American forces across the Middle East.

The border area has become a pivotal battleground as the IS group has steadily closed in on outgunned Kurdish forces in Kobane, with fierce fighting and tens of thousands of refugees fleeing across the border into Turkey.

According to Centcom press releases, the US-led coalition has attacked the IS group around Kobane in at least seven air raids since Saturday.

In Iraq, US and allied forces carried out five bombing raids against the IS group on Tuesday and Wednesday, employing fighter jets and drone aircraft, according to Central Command. British fighter jets took part.

The attacks included three air strikes northwest of Mosul, destroying two IS armed vehicles and an IS-controlled building, it said.

There was also a bombing run targeting an IS vehicle near the Haditha dam in the west, and another raid northwest of Baghdad that took out two armed vehicles, it said.

There have been more than 300 coalition air strikes in Iraq and Syria since the campaign was launched on August 8, according to Central Command.