{"id":108657,"date":"2014-09-23T18:55:22","date_gmt":"2014-09-23T15:55:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/?p=108657"},"modified":"2022-11-23T11:18:57","modified_gmt":"2022-11-23T08:18:57","slug":"108657","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/2014\/09\/23\/108657\/","title":{"rendered":"Airstrikes by U.S. and Allies Hit ISIS Targets in Syria"},"content":{"rendered":"<header id=\"story-header\" class=\"story-header\">\n<div class=\"story-meta\">\n<h1 class=\"story-heading\"><\/h1>\n<div class=\"story-meta-footer\">\n<p class=\"byline-dateline\"><span class=\"byline\">By <span class=\"byline-author\" data-byline-name=\"HELENE COOPER\">HELENE COOPER<\/span> and <\/span><span class=\"byline\"><span class=\"byline-author\" data-byline-name=\"ERIC SCHMITT\">ERIC SCHMITT<\/span><\/span><time class=\"dateline\" datetime=\"2014-09-22\">SEPT. 22, 2014<\/time><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<p id=\"story-continues-1\" class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"280\" data-total-count=\"280\">WASHINGTON \u2014 The United States and allies launched airstrikes against Sunni militants in Syria early Tuesday, unleashing a torrent of cruise missiles and precision-guided bombs from the air and sea on the militants\u2019 de facto capital of Raqqa and along the porous Iraq border.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"440\" data-total-count=\"720\">American fighter jets and armed Predator and Reaper drones, flying alongside warplanes from several Arab allies, struck a broad array of targets in territory controlled by the militants, known as the Islamic State. American defense officials said the targets included weapons supplies, depots, barracks and buildings the militants use for command and control. Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired from United States Navy ships in the region.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"marginalia related-coverage-marginalia nocontent robots-nocontent\" data-marginalia-type=\"sprinkled\">\n<div class=\"nocontent robots-nocontent\"><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p id=\"story-continues-2\" class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"362\" data-total-count=\"1082\">The strikes are a major turning point in President Obama\u2019s war against the Islamic State and open up a risky new stage of the American military campaign. Until now, the administration had bombed Islamic State targets only in Iraq, and had suggested it would be weeks if not months before the start of a bombing campaign against Islamic State targets in Syria.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"media-\" class=\"media photo embedded has-adjacency has-lede-adjacency layout-small-horizontal media- ratio-tall\" data-media-action=\"modal\"><span class=\"visually-hidden\">Photo<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"image\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"media-viewer-candidate\" src=\"http:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2014\/09\/23\/world\/23STRIKES-1\/23SYRIA-1-master315.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-mediaviewer-src=\"http:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2014\/09\/23\/world\/23STRIKES-1\/23SYRIA-1-superJumbo.jpg\" data-mediaviewer-caption=\"Fighters for the Islamic State during a parade in June in Raqqa, Syria. The United States and allies struck targets in militant-controlled territory early Tuesday.\" data-mediaviewer-credit=\"Raqqa Media Center, via Associated Press\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"media-action-overlay\"><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"caption\"> <span class=\"caption-text\">Fighters for the Islamic State during a parade in June in Raqqa, Syria. The United States and allies struck targets in militant-controlled territory early Tuesday.<\/span> <span class=\"credit\"> <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Credit<\/span> Raqqa Media Center, via Associated Press <\/span> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"459\" data-total-count=\"1541\">Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates took part in the strikes, American officials said, although the Arab governments were not expected to announce their participation until later Tuesday. The new coalition\u2019s makeup is significant because the United States was able to recruit Sunni governments to take action against the Sunni militants of the Islamic State. The operation also unites the squabbling states of the Persian Gulf.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"199\" data-total-count=\"1740\">The strikes came less than two weeks after Mr. Obama announced in an address to the nation that he was authorizing an expansion of the military campaign against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"341\" data-total-count=\"2081\">Unlike American strikes in Iraq over the past month, which have been small-bore bombings of mostly individual Islamic State targets \u2014 patrol boats and trucks \u2014 the salvo on Tuesday in Syria was the beginning of what was expected to be a sustained, hourslong bombardment at targets in the militant headquarters in Raqqa and on the border.<\/p>\n<p id=\"story-continues-3\" class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"286\" data-total-count=\"2367\">The strikes began after years of debate within the Obama administration about whether the United States should intervene militarily or should avoid another entanglement in a complex war in the Middle East. But the Islamic State controls a broad swath of land across both Iraq and Syria.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"461\" data-total-count=\"2828\">Defense officials said the goal of the air campaign was to deprive the Islamic State of the safe havens it enjoys in Syria. The administration\u2019s ultimate goal, as set forth in the address Mr. Obama delivered on Sept. 10, is to recruit a global coalition to \u201cdegrade and ultimately destroy\u201d the militants, even as Mr. Obama warned that \u201ceradicating a cancer\u201d like the Islamic State was a long-term challenge that would put some American troops at risk.<\/p>\n<p id=\"story-continues-4\" class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"480\" data-total-count=\"3308\">American warplanes had been conducting surveillance flights over Syria for more than a month in anticipation of airstrikes, but it had been unclear just how much intelligence the Pentagon had managed to gather about the movements of the Sunni militant group in Syria. Unlike Iraq, whose airspace is controlled by the United States, Syria has its own aerial defense system, so American planes have had to rely on sometimes jamming the country\u2019s defenses when crossing into Syria.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"raqqamap\" class=\"interactive interactive-embedded  has-adjacency limit-xsmall layout-xsmall\">Continue reading the main story<figcaption class=\"interactive-caption\"> <\/figcaption><div class=\"interactive-graphic\">\n<div id=\"ai2html-0723-for-webRAQQAmap\">\n<div id=\"g-0723-for-webRAQQAmap-1_8_x_2\" class=\"g-show-xsmall g-show-small g-show-smallplus g-show-submedium g-show-medium g-show-large g-show-xlarge\">\n<div id=\"g-0723-for-webRAQQAmap-1_8_x_2-graphic\"><img decoding=\"async\" id=\"g-ai0-0\" class=\"g-aiImg\" src=\"http:\/\/graphics8.nytimes.com\/newsgraphics\/2014\/07\/23\/raqqamap\/e29a60d97e40b6ac69ee4e062476bde75dede8b5\/0723-for-webRAQQAmap-1_8_x_2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"100%\" data-src=\"http:\/\/graphics8.nytimes.com\/newsgraphics\/2014\/07\/23\/raqqamap\/e29a60d97e40b6ac69ee4e062476bde75dede8b5\/0723-for-webRAQQAmap-1_8_x_2.png\" data-height-multiplier=\"1.1174\" \/><\/p>\n<div id=\"g-ai0-1\" class=\"g-LABELS g-aiAbs\">\n<p class=\"g-aiPstyle0\">TURKEY<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"g-ai0-2\" class=\"g-LABELS g-aiAbs\">\n<p class=\"g-aiPstyle1\">100 miles<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"g-ai0-3\" class=\"g-LABELS g-aiAbs\">\n<p class=\"g-aiPstyle2\">Aleppo<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"g-ai0-4\" class=\"g-LABELS g-aiAbs\">\n<p class=\"g-aiPstyle3\">Raqqa<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"g-ai0-5\" class=\"g-LABELS g-aiAbs\">\n<p class=\"g-aiPstyle2\">Homs<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"g-ai0-6\" class=\"g-LABELS g-aiAbs\">\n<p class=\"g-aiPstyle4\">SYRIA<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"g-ai0-7\" class=\"g-LABELS g-aiAbs\">\n<p class=\"g-aiPstyle5\">LEBANON<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"g-ai0-8\" class=\"g-LABELS g-aiAbs\">\n<p class=\"g-aiPstyle2\">Damascus<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"g-ai0-9\" class=\"g-LABELS g-aiAbs\">\n<p class=\"g-aiPstyle6\">IRAQ<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"g-ai0-10\" class=\"g-LABELS g-aiAbs\">\n<p class=\"g-aiPstyle0\">ISRAEL<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"g-ai0-11\" class=\"g-LABELS g-aiAbs\">\n<p class=\"g-aiPstyle6\">JORDAN<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"footer\"><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div class=\"ad ad-placeholder nocontent robots-nocontent\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"story-continues-5\" class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"406\" data-total-count=\"3714\">The strikes in Syria occurred without the approval of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, whose government, unlike Iraq, did not ask the United States for help against the Sunni militant group. Mr. Obama has repeatedly called on Mr. Assad to step down because of chemical weapons attacks and violence against his own people, and defense officials said Mr. Assad had not been told in advance of the strikes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"196\" data-total-count=\"3910\">But administration officials acknowledge that American efforts to roll back the Sunni militant group in Syria cannot help but aid Mr. Assad, whose government is also a target of the Islamic State.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"454\" data-total-count=\"4364\">The United Arab Emirates announced three weeks ago that it was willing to participate in the campaign against the Islamic State, and administration officials have also said they expect the Iraqi military to take part in strikes both in Iraq and Syria. If both nations are in fact participants, the strikes on Tuesday could mark a rare instance when the Shiite-dominated Iraqi military has cooperated in a military operation with its Sunni Arab neighbors.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"264\" data-total-count=\"4628\">Combined with a French airstrike last week on a logistics depot held by Islamic State militants in northeastern Iraq, the allied participation in the strikes allows Mr. Obama to make the case that his plan to target the Islamic State has international cooperation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"232\" data-total-count=\"4860\">In addition, Saudi Arabia recently agreed to a training facility for moderate members of the Syrian opposition, whom the United States hopes to train, equip and send back to Syria to fight both Mr. Assad and Islamic State militants.<\/p>\n<p id=\"story-continues-6\" class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"130\" data-total-count=\"4990\">On Wednesday, Mr. Obama is expected to speak of the international coalition in an address to the United Nations General Assembly.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"how-isis-works\" class=\"interactive promo  has-adjacency layout-small\">\n<div class=\"interactive-image-container\">\n<div class=\"interactive-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2014\/09\/16\/world\/middleeast\/how-isis-works-hp-promo\/how-isis-works-hp-promo-master180.png\" alt=\"\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"interactive-overlay\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"interactive-headline\">Graphic: How ISIS Works<\/h2>\n<\/figure>\n<p id=\"story-continues-7\" class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"368\" data-total-count=\"5358\">In his Sept. 10 speech to the nation, Mr. Obama drew a distinction between the military action he was ordering and the two wars begun by his immediate predecessor, George W. Bush. He likened this campaign to the selective airstrikes that the United States has carried out for years against suspected terrorists in Yemen and Somalia, few of which have been made public.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"marginalia comments-marginalia  selected-comment-marginalia\" data-marginalia-type=\"sprinkled\" data-skip-to-para-id=\"story-continues-8\">\n<header>\n<h2 class=\"module-heading\"><i class=\"icon\"><\/i>Recent Comments<\/h2>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"comments-view\">\n<article class=\"comment\" data-permid=\"12876333\">\n<header>\n<h2 class=\"commenter\">James Lyndon<\/h2>\n<p><time class=\"comment-time\" datetime=\"\">41 minutes ago<\/time><\/p>\n<\/header>\n<p class=\"comment-text\">Unfortunately, without ground troops to follow up and secure the areas that were attacked from the air, the ability to clear and hold these&#8230;<\/p>\n<\/article>\n<article class=\"comment\" data-permid=\"12876683\">\n<header>\n<h2 class=\"commenter\">Jack<\/h2>\n<p><time class=\"comment-time\" datetime=\"\">42 minutes ago<\/time><\/p>\n<\/header>\n<p class=\"comment-text\">It is amazing to see the number and volume of negative and critical comments before our military even has an opportunity to analyze the&#8230;<\/p>\n<\/article>\n<article class=\"comment\" data-permid=\"12876571\">\n<header>\n<h2 class=\"commenter\">Larry Hoffman<\/h2>\n<p><time class=\"comment-time\" datetime=\"\">42 minutes ago<\/time><\/p>\n<\/header>\n<p class=\"comment-text\">I made sure to read some of the responses to last nights air attacks. It constantly amazes me that so many of the remarks are all negative&#8230;.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<footer>\n<ul class=\"comment-actions\">\n<li class=\"comment-count\">See All Comments<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/footer>\n<\/aside>\n<p id=\"story-continues-8\" class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"556\" data-total-count=\"5914\">The airstrikes in Syria, so far, come without the benefit of a large ground force to capitalize on gains they make. While some Syrian opposition groups fighting the Islamic State militants may be able to move into a few cleared areas, administration officials acknowledged on Monday that it was doubtful that the Free Syrian Army, the opposition group most preferred by the United States, would be able to take control of major sections of Islamic State territory, at least not until it has been better trained \u2014 which will take place over the next year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"412\" data-total-count=\"6326\">That could leave the forces of Mr. Assad in perhaps the best position to take advantage of any American bombardment. An administration official on Monday acknowledged that that was a worry, but said, \u201cWe don\u2019t plan to make it easy for Assad to reclaim territory.\u201d He declined to say what methods the United States would use to prevent the Syrian leader from capitalizing on the American aerial bombardment.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p id=\"story-continues-9\" class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"458\" data-total-count=\"6784\">Although the full scope of the airstrikes was not immediately clear, they followed an urgent appeal from Hadi al-Bahra, the president of the Syrian Opposition Coalition, for American military action. He said the United States needed to act quickly to stop militants from the Islamic State from pressing their attack against the Kurdish communities near the Syrian border town of Ayn-al-Arab, as it is known by Arabs, or Kobani, as it is called by the Kurds.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"234\" data-total-count=\"7018\">And Representative Eliot L. Engel, a New York Democrat who serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued a statement urging \u201ctargeted American airstrikes\u201d to protect the Syrian Kurds and prevent a \u201cpotential massacre.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"257\" data-total-count=\"7275\">Obama administration officials asserted that they were having success building an international coalition to confront the Islamic State, but Laurent Fabius, the French foreign minister, said on Monday that France would limit its military operations to Iraq.<\/p>\n<p id=\"story-continues-10\" class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"252\" data-total-count=\"7527\">\u201cThe French president has said we do not have intention to do the same in Syria, I mean by air,\u201d Mr. Fabius said in an appearance before the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, adding that France would support the moderate Syrian opposition.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"299\" data-total-count=\"7826\">\u201cI can confirm that U.S. military and partner nation forces are undertaking military action against ISIL terrorists in Syria using a mix of fighter, bomber and Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles,\u201d said Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, using an alternate name for the Islamic State.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"406\" data-total-count=\"8232\">\u201cGiven that these operations are ongoing, we are not in a position to provide additional details at this time,\u201d Admiral Kirby said in a statement Monday night in Washington. \u201cThe decision to conduct these strikes was made earlier today by the U.S. Central Command commander under authorization granted him by the commander in chief. We will provide more details later as operationally appropriate.\u201d<\/p>\n<footer class=\"story-footer story-content\">\n<div class=\"story-meta\">\n<div class=\"story-notes\">\n<p>Michael R. Gordon contributed reporting from New York.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"story-print-citation\">A version of this article appears in print on September 23, 2014, on page A1 of the New York edition with the headline: U.S. and Allies Strike Sunni Militants in Syria. <span class=\"story-footer-links\">Order Reprints<span class=\"pipe\">|<\/span>Today&#8217;s Paper<span class=\"pipe\">|<\/span>Subscribe <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/footer>\n<nav id=\"next-in\" class=\"next-in next-in-theme-standard story-content\">\n<h2 class=\"module-heading\">Next in Middle East<\/h2>\n<article>\n<h2>U.S. Strikes Follow Plea by Syrian Opposition Leader on Behalf of Kurds<\/h2>\n<div class=\"arrow arrow-right\"><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/nav>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By HELENE COOPER and ERIC SCHMITTSEPT. 22, 2014 WASHINGTON \u2014 The United States and allies launched airstrikes against Sunni militants in Syria early Tuesday, unleashing a torrent of cruise missiles and precision-guided bombs from the air and sea on the militants\u2019 de facto capital of Raqqa and along the porous Iraq border. American fighter jets [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":782134,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[89],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-108657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-turkey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108657"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108657\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/782134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}