U.S. bombs ISIL targets in Syria

Pentagon acknowledges attacking 20 Islamic State sites

WASHINGTON The U.S. military began its first airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria late Monday, as the war ordered by President Obama against the militant organization took on an urgent new phase.

The Pentagon acknowledged responsibility for the attack in a brief statement.

“I can confirm that U.S. military and partner nation forces are undertaking military action against ISIL terrorists in Syria using a mix of fighter, bomber and Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles,” said Rear Adm. John Kirby, Pentagon press secretary. “Given that these operations are ongoing, we are not in a position to provide additional details at this time.”

The attack, carried out by warplanes dropping bombs and ships firing cruise missiles, hit about 20 Islamic State targets, including headquarters buildings for the militants who have based their movement in Syria, according to a senior Defense Department official who was not authorized to speak publicly about the attack.

The strikes in Syria were not invited by the government of Bashar Assad, who is waging a civil war against opponents of his regime, including Islamic State militants, also known as ISIL or ISIS. About two thirds of the estimated 30,000 ISIL fighters are based in Syria. The remainder have captured large parts of northern Iraq, although their momentum has been blunted there by U.S. fighter, bomber and drone aircraft. Last week, French warplanes launched attacks on ISIL targets in Iraq for the first time.

For the past several weeks, U.S. spy planes have been flying over Syria collecting intelligence on potential ISIL targets.

The goal of Islamic State fighters is to dominate a vast stretch of territory from Iraq to the Med- iterranean. Last month, they swept through northern Iraq, capturing Mosul, the country’s second-largest city after Baghdad, and threatening the semi-autonomous Kurdish region. Kurdish forces and Iraqi commandos, backed by U.S. air power, halted the advance of ISIL fighters and ejected them from control of two dams near Mosul and Haditha.

Rolling back ISIL gains and ultimately destroying the organization, Pentagon and White House officials say, will require local military forces fighting on behalf of representative governments.