US coalition hits ISIS with weekend barrage

U.S.-led forces conducted 18 airstrikes against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) over the weekend, according to defense officials.

In Syria, U.S. aircraft carried out eight strikes near the border town of Kobani, Central Command said in a statement Monday.

{mosads}Situated just a few miles from Turkey, the Kurdish town has been in danger of falling to the terror group from months and has become a focal point of the military campaign against ISIS.

The strikes eliminated 10 ISIS “fighting positions,” two buildings and two “staging positions,” Central Command said.

Near the Syria town of Abu Kamal, aircraft destroyed a vehicle belonging to the militant group. In Iraq, the U.S. and partner nations used an assortment of fighter, bomber, attack, and remotely piloted aircraft to execute nine airstrikes, including three near Mosul.

The bombings destroyed a fighting position and “struck three tactical ISIL units and suppressed an ISIL heavy machine gun position,” officials said, using another acronym for the terror organization.

Airstrikes were also carried out near Sinjar, Ramadi, Samarra and Kirkuk. Strikes in Hit and al-Qaim each separately destroyed an ISIS “excavator,” according to Central Command.

All of the aircraft used in the airstrikes returned safely, officials said.

The Obama administration says more than 1,000 airstrikes against ISIS have been conducted so far.