This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

The US and its coalition partners have conducted three air strikes against Islamic State (Isis) militants in Syria and eight in Iraq since Saturday, according to the US military.

In a statement on Sunday which used another acronym for the Islamic State, the Combined Joint Task Force leading the air operations said the three strikes near Kobani in Syria “struck an ISIL large tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL building and two ISIL vehicles”.

In Iraq, air strikes near Tal Afar, Mosul, Bayji, Hit and Sinjar struck tactical units, vehicles, a bulldozer, buildings and a checkpoint, the task force said.

On Friday, Isis fighters led a suicide attack on an airbase in Iraq where US and coalition troops were training Iraqi forces. Isis launched the attack after taking the nearby town of al-Baghdadi, their first territorial gain in months, the Pentagon said. The attack was beaten off by Iraqi troops.

On Saturday, the Combined Joint Task Force reported nine strikes in the two countries since Friday. Strikes began in Iraq on 8 August and Syria on 23 September.

Last week, as he sought a three-year Congressional authorisation for the use of military force, President Barack Obama posited an open-ended campaign against the militant group.