The news is from an RT report today: "Russian airstrikes have torched more than 1,000 tankers taking stolen crude oil to Islamic State refineries. This blow against the jihadists comes as the Russian Air Force has hit 472 terrorist targets in two days in Syria, making 141 sorties. ..."
Not to be outdone, the U.S. raced to announce today through anonymous sources:
American warplanes destroyed around 280 of ISIS' oil tanker trucks along the Syria-Iraq border on Monday, U.S. officials told NBC News.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the officials said that A-10 Warthogs and AC-130 Specter gunships launched 24 precision-guided bombs and strafed the tanker trucks with heavy machine-gun and cannon fire.
The vehicles were gathered at a "fuel collection point" in the Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor.
The planes dropped leaflets warning the drivers to "run immediately or you will be killed," according to the officials, adding that similar leaflets were dropped during U.S. airstrikes last week that destroyed 116 oil tanker trucks.
In addition, the officials said, the planes make several low-level passes over the targets prior to the air assault.
The airstrikes came as Secretary of State John Kerry told NBC's TODAY he believed the Islamist extremists would be overcome.
"I believe ISIS is going to be defeated. ISIS is not 10-feet tall," Kerry said in an exclusive interview. "The pace has to be picked up and more needs to be done and everybody understands that." [...]You could have fooled us, Mr Kerry. The way the U.S. has dealt with Islamic State made them seem very tall indeed. It's only the Russians, backing up Syria's army, who've shown the true size of IS.
Also, the French have started their big bombing runs today from the Charles de Gaulle, hitting two IS targets in Iraq. Well, every little bit helps.
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