US military says Gulf states, Jordan partnered against Islamic State

Reuters , Tuesday 23 Sep 2014

Syria
A man inspects the remains of what Islamist State militants say was a U.S. drone which crashed in Raqqa September 23, 2014 (Photo: Reuters)

The US military said on Tuesday its partners in air strikes against Islamic State militants in Syria included Jordan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

In a CENTCOM statement, it added the U.S. military had taken action to disrupt "imminent attack" against the US and Western interests by "seasoned al Qaeda veterans" who had established a safe haven in Syria. "These strikes were undertaken only by U.S. assets," it said.

The statement said the US had launched strikes from warships in international waters in the Red Sea and the North Arabian Gulf.

It said Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi and the UAE had "also participated in or supported the air strikes against (Islamic State) targets. All aircraft safely exited the strike areas," it said.

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