US and coalition forces conducted 18 air strikes against Islamic State fighters in Iraq during a 24-hour period, with eight strikes near militant-held Tikrit, the US military said on Saturday.
The Tikrit strikes destroyed 11 Isis fighting positions, a vehicle, and a potential car bomb, the military statement said. Some strikes also hit three Isis fighting and tactical units.
Iraqi ground forces are fighting an estimated 500 to 750 Isis militants for control of Tikrit, the home town of the dictator Saddam Hussein.
On Thursday, the Shia militia commander leading the campaign against Isis in Tikrit said his forces did not need extra US air strikes to help them take the town, as had been requested by the Iraqi government.
“We did not ask for [extra strikes] and we have no direct contact with the Americans,” Hadi al-Amiri said. “From what I understand, Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi made the request. However, we respect his decision.”
Saturday’s US military statement said that elsewhere in Iraq, forces struck targets near Fallujah, Mosul, Tal Afar, Ar Rutbah and Bayji.
The strikes in Syria, all near the town of Kobani on the border with Turkey, hit two Isis tactical units and destroyed two anti-aircraft machine guns, three vehicles and one excavator.
Strikes against Isis fighters began in Iraq in August and Syria in September. More than 2,000 such strikes have been launched.
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