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US-led airstrikes hit IS group-controlled Syrian oil refinery near Turkey border

Associated Press
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Syrian refugees, mostly Kurds from Kobani, arrive at the Turkey-Syria border near Suruc, Turkey, Saturday, Sept. 27, 2014. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici) (The Associated Press)

A Syrian refugee from Kobani carries her belongings as she arrives at the Turkey-Syria border near Suruc, Turkey, Saturday, Sept. 27, 2014. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici) (The Associated Press)

Syrian refugees, mostly Kurds from Kobani, rest after arriving at the Turkey-Syria border near Suruc, Turkey, Saturday, Sept. 27, 2014. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici) (The Associated Press)

Residents of a Turkish border town say that U.S.-led coalition warplanes have struck an oil refinery controlled by the Islamic State group inside Syria.

They say the airstrikes hit the Tel Abyad refinery in the early hours of Sunday, a few hundred meters (yards) from the Turkish town of Akcakale.

"There was an explosion and I jumped out of bed," said Akcakale businessman Mehmet Ozer.

The U.S.-led coalition has been targeting oil installations controlled by the militants, aiming to cripple the Islamic State group's revenue sources, estimated at some $3 million a day.

The United States and five Arab allies launched an aerial campaign against Islamic State fighters Tuesday with the aim of rolling back and ultimately crushing the extremist group, which has created a proto-state spanning the Syria-Iraq border.