Syrian Warplanes Hit ISIS Targets Inside Iraq’s Anbar Province

Jordanian Planes Also Active Around ISIS-Seized Border Crossing

Syrian warplanes launched strikes against multiple ISIS targets on the Iraqi side of the border today, hitting al-Qaim and al-Walid, two important border towns under ISIS control in the Anbar Province.

The strikes in al-Qaim were initially reported as a possible US drone attack, though the Pentagon denied this and Iraqi officials have since attributed them to the Syrian military, which they are coordinating with against ISIS.

In addition to the activity at the Iraq-Syria border, Jordanian warplanes were active along the Jordan-Iraq border as well, following ISIS taking the long crossing there over. Though the Jordanian planes do not appear to have launched any attacks, they appear to be trying to dissuade ISIS from moving into Jordanian territory.

As Iraq’s own territory continues to shrink, it is making less and less sense to even talk about a Syria-Iraq or Syria-Jordan border, as both are ISIS controlled territory, and much of the Syrian border has been torn down outright, with ISIS controlling both sides and neither Syria nor Iraq in any position to seriously challenge that control.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.