Coalition planes warned drivers of fuel trucks used by the "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL) in Syria they were about to be bombed, prompting several vehicles to flee, officials told AFP Wednesday (August 10th).
Warplanes destroyed 83 oil tankers Sunday near Albu Kamal, along Syria's border with Iraq, as part of an ongoing mission to wipe out the oil-smuggling infrastructure that helps fund ISIL.
At the start of the attack, pilots "fired multiple warning shots to encourage truck drivers to leave the area", the US military's anti-ISIL mission, Operation Inherent Resolve, said in a statement.
"Multiple oil tanker trucks departed the area after the warning shots, and we did not pursue them," officials added.
Remaining oil trucks were "stationary at the time of the strike. Based on our assessment, there were no drivers remaining with the vehicles at the time of the strike".
