US Navy warplanes strike ISIS in Syria
According to the US Navy press service, the USA Navy strike group headed by the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier has reached the coast of Syria and has already started strikes against ISIS positions.
In a twitter message, the US Navy Forces Europe said that the US Navy started sorties against ISIS positions on May 3.
“The USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group conducts aviation ops May 3 in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, which began Oct. 17, 2014, to defeat ISIS in designated areas in Iraq & Syria & increase regional stability, “ the message of the US Navy reads.
The USS Harry S. Truman, the flagship of the strike group, accompanied by four Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers and a guided missile cruiser, set off from the US Navy base in Norfolk on April 11.
The carrier’s air wing operations include three strike fighter squadrons, an electronic attack squadron, an early warning squadron, helicopter maritime strike squadron and other assets, the release explained.
The strike group entered the Mediterranean Sea on April 19, almost a week after the US, France and Britain launched missile strikes on Syria's military and civil facilities in response to the alleged April 7 chemical weapons attack in the Damascus suburb of Douma.
On May 1, State Department Spokeswoman Heather Nauert published a tweet stating that the United States has begun an operation in Syria to liberate the last strongholds of the Islamic State group.
According to the Nauert, the operation will be conducted by the United States-led coalition and "local partners", including the Syrian Democratic Forces. "The fighting will be difficult, but we and our partners will prevail," the statement said.
Nauert stressed that the US intends to protect the borders of Turkey, Israel, Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon from IS and ensure the free expression of the will of all the inhabitants of Syria, including Sunni Arabs, Kurds, Christians and other minorities. Additionally, the US intends to mobilize "international resources" to address Syria's urgent humanitarian problems.
On April 30, the international coalition announced the completion of main military operations against IS in Iraq. The closing ceremony of the Coalition’s headquartersin Baghdad took place on the same day