WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th October, 2019) The US-led coalition has conducted a pre-planned airstrike at the Lafarge Cement Factory near the Syrian city of Kobane to destroy an ammunition cache and to reduce the military usefulness of the facility, Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) spokesman Col. Myles Caggins III said in a statement.
"On Oct. 16, after all Coalition personnel and essential tactical equipment departed, two Coalition F-15Es successfully conducted a pre-planned precision airstrike at the Lafarge Cement Factory to destroy an ammunition cache and reduce the facility's military usefulness," Caggins said via Twitter on Wednesday.
Caggins in a separate statement said all US-led coalition forces executed a deliberate withdrawal from Manbij and have vacated Raqqa and Tabqah.
On October 7, President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of US troops from northern Syria. Defense Secretary Mark Esper then said the United States would pull out an additional 1,000 servicemen from the area near where Turkey launched a military offensive on October 9.
The administration of the Kurdish authority in northern Syria on Sunday announced an agreement under which the Syrian government would send troops to the border with Turkey to help the Kurds repel Ankara's offensive. Under the deal, brokered by Russia, Kurdish forces have begun handing over control of territories to the Syrian national army, including in Kobane and Manbij.
