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US JOINT Chiefs of Staff chairman General Martin Dempsey said yesterday that air strikes on Islamic State (Isis) bases in Syria showed extremists that their savage attacks will not go unanswered.
“We wanted to make sure that Isil (Isis) knew they have no safe haven and we certainly achieved that,” he said.
Isis bases were hit by land and sea-based US aircraft as well as Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from two warships in the Red Sea and the northern Persian Gulf.
Washington boasted too that Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates had all played a part in the blitz, stressing the significance of having five Sunni-ruled dictatorships on board.
“I can’t overstate” the importance of the Arab role, Gen Dempsey declared, calling it an unprecedented coalition with Arab states that set the stage for a broader international campaign against the extremists.
“Once we had one of them on board, the others followed quickly thereafter,” he said, adding that the partnership had come together over the previous three days.
“We now have a kind of credible campaign against Isil (Isis) that includes a coalition of partners.”
He gave no details of the involvement — participatory or supportive — of the individual states.
However, government spokesman Mohammad al-Momani in Amman confirmed that Jordanian planes had taken part in the raids, calling them necessary to secure the stability and security of the country.
“We think it’s necessary for us to target the positions of the Islamic State group in light of the continuous attempts to infiltrate our borders,” said Mr Momani.
“We will not hesitate to take further actions to target and kill terrorists who are trying to attack our country.”
Hours after the attacks on Isis positions in Raqqa, Tabqa, Ein Issa, Tel Abyad and Kfar Derian, US planes hit positions west of Aleppo held by the non-Isis Khorasan Group jihadis.
Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, reported “confirmed information” of casualties among Isis members.
Syrian opposition activist Mohammed al-Dughaim, based in the northern province of Idlib, said that there had been civilians among the casualties.
