BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi warplanes attacked an Islamic State explosives factory and other positions inside Syria on Thursday, Baghdad’s military said, in a rare air assault across the border. Iraqi F-16 jets targeted the militants near the city of Hajin in coordination with the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, an Iraqi military spokesman said. Both governments have been fighting the hardline group, which declared a caliphate on both their territories in 2014 before it was forced back by an international offensive. "Conducting airstrikes against IS gangs in the Syrian territory is due to the threat of these gangs to Iraqi soil, and demonstrates the increased capabilities of our courageous armed forces in the pursuit and elimination of terrorism," a statement from Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's office read.
Iraqi Air Force F-16 jets attack an Islamic State explosives factory and other positions inside Syria near the city of Hajin in coordination with the Syrian Armed Forces.