RAQQA, Syria (WNB) - After finally relenting to worldwide pleas for his administration to do something about the brutal spread of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria and Iraq, President Obama directed the U.S. military to bomb multiple targets in and around the de facto ISIS capitol of Raqqa, Syria Monday night.
The assault consisted exclusively of dozens of planes and cruise missiles despite top generals' insistence that ISIS cannot be defeated without ground troops. The cost of the overnight bombing is estimated to be at least $100 million.
Tuesday morning revealed the following enemy assets destroyed:
- 7 buildings - apparently unoccupied at the time
- 13 suspected ISIS soldiers (or citizens wearing black tee shirts)
- 22 small, dilapidated pickup trucks - some with mounted guns
- 4 stolen Humvees
- 8 mopeds
- 12 donkeys
- 7 camels
- 124 goats
- Inflatable swimming pool
- wheelbarrow
At a press conference Tuesday President Obama defended his decision to notify 'moderate' rebel groups in the area well in advance of the attack, insisting it played no part in the fact the thousands of ISIS troops living in Raqqa were apparently having a backyard barbecue in a neighboring town during the assault.