Advertisement

US-Led Coalition Claims Strike on IS Oil Facility Near Raqqa Ahead of Kurdish Advance

The US-led military coalition against Islamic State (IS), Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF–OIR), released this video on May 30 claiming to show a strike on an IS oil pumpjack near Raqqa on May 20. Syrian Democratic Forces and other rebel groups advanced in north Raqqa on May 25 as a part of a major military push to retake the city from Islamic State.

Images and video shared by Agence France-Presse and Kurdistan 24 on May 26 and 27 were described as showing US special forces working with Kurdish ground forces in preparation for the advance on Raqqa. The Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook denied its ground forces were on the “forward line” of the offensive, though admitted there was no “specific measurement” for what the forward line is. Credit: YouTube/CJTF-OIR