U.S.-led Coalition Air Strikes Slow in Syria

U.S.-led coalition forces have not carried out any air strikes in Syria for three days as of Monday, a lull that contrasts with the continued intensity of Russia's bombing campaign.

According to Pentagon statistics, the last coalition strike was a drone attack on October 22 that targeted an Islamic State vehicle and a "mortar tube."

Russia, on the other hand, continues to maintain an intense tempo as it nears the end of its first month of bombing in Syria.

The Russian defense ministry said Monday it had hit 94 targets in just the past 24 hours. 

U.S. defense officials say Russian sorties have no bearing on coalition actions in Syria and instead the situation reflects greater discrimination and refinement in terms of which targets are struck. 

"It's not because of Russia," said Captain Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman.

"Air strikes ebb and flow... We look at intelligence to find out where we have actionable targets, where we have targets that we can hit without causing civilian damage. 

"We simply haven't had any (recently)... but that doesn't mean we are not on the lookout for more -- and there will be more."

The United States has led a coalition of 60-plus countries that since June 2014 has been conducting regular air raids against IS positions in Iraq and Syria.

As of Sunday, coalition aircraft had carried out a total of 2,679 air strikes in Syria.

A senior defense official insisted there was "nothing to read" into the apparent slowdown, noting "there is any number of reasons why we could not strike a target."

Russia and the United States last week signed a memorandum of understanding that establishes measures so their pilots steer clear of each other as they conduct separate bombing campaigns in Syria.

Moscow says its bombing campaign that began on September 30 targets IS jihadists and other "terrorists," but the West claims the strikes have focused on moderate rebels fighting Russian-backed President Bashar Assad's forces.