F-16 fighter jets of the Iraqi Air Force (IAF) have carried out strikes on ISIS positions in Syria, the Iraqi Joint Operations Command announced in a statement on May 24.
According to the statement, the strikes hit ISIS positions and a depot in the area of Hajin on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River.
نفذت طائرات F16 العراقية صباح اليوم ضربات جوية استهدفت خلالها موقع لقيادة عصابات داعش الارهابية وموقع اخر عبارة عن مقر ومستودع للصواريخ يتواجد فيه عدد من العناصر الإرهابية في منطقة هجين داخل الاراضي السورية، pic.twitter.com/OC1UJaIhk3
— IRAQI AIR FORCE (@iqAirForce) May 24, 2018
This was not the first time when the IAF bombed ISIS positions in Syria. Previously, the IAF carried out strikes against ISIS in Syria on May 14, on May 6 and on April 19. According to reports, the strikes on all these targets were conduct in coordination with the Syrian government.
However, at least the last one, announced on May 24, was for sure coordinated with the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which are now working to capture this area from ISIS.
In middle May, Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi announced that Iraqi troops had fully secured the Syrian-Iraqi border in Upper Euphrates and to eliminate ISIS members there.