U.S. steps up attacks on Islamic State oil trucks in Syria

Recent national TV news video purportedly showed an aerial view of Russian bombers blowing an Islamic State-controlled oil refinery off the map and, in the process, cutting into that barbaric group’s terrorist funding apparatus.

The United States and its allies conducted additional strikes against Islamic State over the weekend, including two in Syria that destroyed almost 300 Islamic State vehicles and an oil facility, the coalition leading the operations said. The strike was carried out by A-10 Warthogs and AC-130 Specter Gunships.

In its daily summary of airstrikes, the U.S.-led military coalition said Monday that 283 vehicles had been struck in eastern Syria on November 21 but did not elaborate.

Before the strike, the planes dropped leaflets warning the drivers to “run immediately or you will be killed”, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The two were in addition to nine strikes in Syria on Saturday reported earlier by the US-led task force. The strike destroyed 116 ISIS oil trucks and marked a shift in USA strategy from attacking only military targets to new attempts to disrupt ISIS’ cash flow.

The U.S.-led coalition has targeted oil infrastructure occasionally in the past, including a heavy attack last month on Syria’s Omar field near the town of Deir el-Zour that hit refineries, command and control centers and transportation nodes. It smuggles the oil mainly to Turkey, selling at cut-rate prices and generating almost $50 million a month.