Syria ISIS Airstrikes: US State Dept Says Assad Was Advised But No Coordination Made, Syrian Fighters Say Airstrike Will Help Keep Assad Regime Alive (PHOTOS)
Pictures showing an ISIL Command and Control Center in Syria before (L) and after it was struck by bombs dropped by a U.S. F-22 fighter jet are seen in handouts released by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) September 23, 2014. Reuters/US Department of Defense/Handout

As the U.S.-led airstrikes hit the city of Raqqa in Syria, the Pentagon has released raw images of the destruction of ISIS-held strongholds. According to reports, the aerial assaults also targeted another extremist group known as the Khorasan. The militants are reportedly planning to attack the United States.

U.S. President Barack Obama had declared the launch of aerial assaults, a decision backed by Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. Mr Obama said the three-wave attack will bring a "powerful message to the world" that the strength of the international coalition does not rely on the U.S. alone.

Rear Admiral John Kirby told media that ISIS was only tasting the start of the "hell to come." He described the airstrikes as "very successful."

A Newsweek report said thousands of hostages still remain with ISIS amid the aerial attacks. Slain U.S. journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and British aid worker David Haines are only some of the people whose lives were in the hands of Islamic State militants. Some of the known names of the hostages include another aid worker from Britain, Alan Henning and British journalist John Cantlie who was kidnapped two years ago.

The report said no one seems to know the names of 49 Turkish diplomats, consulate staff and soldiers who were taken as hostages from the town of Mosul in June. Although the hostages were eventually freed, the incident was not widely covered by international media and the details pertaining to their release remain unclear. It is believed that more than 100 Turks are still captives of ISIS.

Meanwhile, even children are joining the "jihad" in the Middle East, including German pre-adolescents as young as 13. According to Hans-Georg Maaben, the head of Germany's Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, children were leaving the country to fight alongside ISIS in Iraq and Syria. German authorities have coordinated with foreign intelligence services to help track child jihadis in the Middle East.

ISIS has been using social media to recruit supporters and fighters. In Australia, Prime Minister Tony Abbott has warned Australian jihadists that they will be detained if they return to the country. The government has raised the national terror alert level to "high" following reports of a planned terrorist attack in the country days ago.

(Source: YouTube/TodayNews)

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