Fresh US airstrikes in Syria target oil facilities again

Beirut: Fresh air strikes by a US-led coalition fighting jihadists hit two provinces of Syria overnight, targeting oil facilities for a second day, a monitoring group said on Friday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported new air strikes in the eastern Deir Ezzor province and northeastern Hasakeh province, both of which were targeted a day earlier by the coalition. [caption id=“attachment_1730889” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Associated Press[/caption] The Britain-based group said at least two areas in Deir Ezzor were struck, with the strikes appearing to target oil facilities. Additional strikes hit an area in Hasakeh, where the target was not immediately clear, the group’s director Rami Abdel Rahman said. There were no immediate details of any casualties from the strikes. They came on a fourth night of bombing by the coalition Washington has assembled to tackle the jihadist Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria. The strikes have killed at least 140 jihadists and 13 civilians so far, according to the Observatory, though Washington has yet to acknowledge any civilian casualties. Raids overnight between Wednesday and Thursday also targeted some of the makeshift oil refineries operated by IS and others in Deir Ezzor and Hasakeh. Black market sales of illegally extracted Syrian and Iraqi oil are believed to account for a large part of the Islamic State group’s funding. Experts say the group could be earning between $1 million and $3 million a day from oil sales alone. AFP