PHOTO: An Islamic State oil facility targeted by a US warplane

LATEST: Pentagon — 1st Airstrikes Near Kurdish Center of Kobane

SATURDAY FEATURE

Video Feature: US Airstrikes Bring Out Largest Protests In Months

The US has launched another wave of bombing raids inside Syria, as European countries pledged warplanes on Friday for the campaign against the Islamic State.

A US Defense Department official said, “I can confirm US air operations are ongoing in Syria.” He claimed “near continuous” missions.

The Central Command, overseeing the operations, did not give details. However, activists said IS-controlled oil installations in Deir Ez Zor Province in eastern Syria were struck again.

Just across the border in Iraq, attacks killed 52 Islamic State fighters in al-Qaim, according to sources who spoke to Al Jazeera.

On Friday, the British Parliament approved London’s participation in operations. Britain, Belgium, and Denmark pledged a total of 19 aircraft for the campaign; however, the three countries limited their involvement to Iraq.

France has carried out two missions in Iraq, but only Gulf States have flown alongside the US inside Syria.

Footage of damage in Raqqa, the largest city held by the Islamic State, from airstrikes:

Pentagon: 1st Airstrikes Near Kurdish Center of Kobane

Central Command says the 1st US-led coalition air strikes have been carried out on the Islamic State near the besieged Kurdish center of Kobane in northern Syria.

The Command said a jihadist building and two “armed vehicles” were destroyed at the border crossing near the town on the Turkish frontier.

Kurdish forces have been defending Kobane against an Islamic State offensive from three directions over the past two weeks. Shellfire on the town was reported on Saturday.

An airfield, garrison and training camp near Raqqa, the largest city controlled by the Islamic State, were also struck.

Three air strikes in Iraq destroyed four Islamic State armed vehicles and a “fighting position” southwest of the Iraqi Kurdish capital of Erbil.

Top US Officials Say No-Fly Zone in Northeastern Syria “Not Ruled Out”

The US has not ruled out establishment of a no-fly zone over northeastern Syria, according to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Hagel and Dempsey indicated on Friday that they are open to consideration of the request of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey for a buffer zone along the Turkish-Syrian border.

“We’ve discussed all these possibilities and will continue to talk about what the Turks believe they will require,” Hagel said.

General Dempsey added that “a buffer zone might at some point become a possibility”, although he said it was not imminent.

In recent weeks, another 130,000 Syrians have fled to Turkey, following an Islamic State offensive towards the Kurdish center of Kobane in Aleppo Province.

About 1.3 million Syrian refugees are now in Turkey.

Kurdish officials and residents have been appealing for days for the US to extend its airstrikes to relieve the pressure on Kobane, as the Islamic State took scores of nearby villages.

There were claims of American operations in the area on Friday, but no confirmed reports.

Meanwhile, journalist Kurt Pelda reports near the frontline of the Islamic State offensive: