U.S. Airstrikes destroy Islamic State Tanks

The U.S. led airstrikes in Syria Friday destroyed four Islamic State tanks near the city of Deir al Zour on the Euphrates River.

The strikes were carried out by a mix of fighter, attack and remotely piloted aircraft, the department of defense said, reports BBC.

The airstrikes on northern Iraqi city of Kirtuk  destroyed three Islamic state Humvees, disabled two of their armed vehicles and damaged an armored truck, the U.S central command said, reports the Associated Press.

In a separate airstrike conducted west of Baghdad near the Syrian border, a guard shack, a bunker, a checkpoint and armed vehicles were destroyed.

Meanwhile, General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said that up to 15,000 moderate Syrian rebels would be required to remove Islamic State militants from their bastions in northern and eastern Syria.

Dempsey's comment comes in the backdrop of Congress approving the plan to start training and arming 5,000 moderate Syrian rebels to fight the Islamic State.

"Five thousand has never been the end state," Dempsey said. "Twelve to 15,000 is what we believe they would need to recapture lost territory in eastern Syria", he said, reports Stripes.com.

Dempsey said that it will take a considerable time for the rebels to become a good fighting force.

 "We have to do it right, not fast. They have to have military leaders that bind them together. They have to have a political structure into which they can hook and therefore be responsive to. And that's going to take some time," he said, reports Stripes.com