DAMASCUS, Syria, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Hours after the U.S.-led airstrikes began overnight, targeting Islamic State militants (also known as ISIS or ISIL), Syria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement claiming it had been given advance warning by the U.S. that the airstrikes would be launched.
The statement, broadcast on state TV, read: "Yesterday (Monday) the Foreign Minister, Walid Muallem, received a letter from his American counterpart John Kerry via the Iraqi foreign minister, in which he informed him that the United States would target the terrorist group ISIS in Syria."