Strikes Destroy ISIS Fuel Trucks

The anti-ISIS coalition this weekend destroyed 116 oil tanker trucks using A-10s and AC-130 gunships, Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis told reporters Monday. The strike, near Abu Kamal in Syria, was part of an operation “designed to attack the distribution component of ISIL’s oil smuggling operation and degrade their capacity to fund military operations,” Davis said. “ISIL is stealing oil from the people of Iraq and Syria to fund its campaign of terror and further oppress the people under its control.” The effort, called Tidal Wave II, began Oct. 21 with a strike against an ISIS-controlled oil field in Syria. Davis said the US Treasury last year estimated ISIS oil revenue at about $1 million per day. Still, Davis said, the US made efforts to warn civilians on the ground about the attacks, dropping leaflets and mounting a show of force ahead of time so that truck drivers who are not affiliated with the terrorist organization would not be harmed. “This was something done with great care,” he said.