The U.S. Air Force conducted a second “major strike” in consecutive days killing over 100 Al Qaeda fighters at a training camp in northern Syria, a defense official with knowledge of the strike told a handful of reporters at the Pentagon on Friday.
(FOX)- A single U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber and an undisclosed number of drones dropped 14 precision-guided bombs at noon eastern time Thursday on an Al Qaeda “basic training” camp in Syria west of the city of Aleppo near the border with Turkey, according to the official.
The official described the fighters as “core Al Qaeda.” A Petagon statement said the camp had been operational since at least 2013. It was not immediately clear why the camp had not been targeted earlier.
The latest strike, likely President Barack Obama’s last as commander-in-chief, comes a day after the Pentagon said two Air Force B-2 nuclear-capable bombers dropped 108 precision-guided bombs on two ISIS training camps in Libya killing 85 fighters, according to officials.
A detachment of B-52 bombers from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana have been deployed since April to the Middle East nation of Qatar to participate in strike missions against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.