U.S., Coalition Continue Strikes Against ISIL in Syria, Iraq...Mattis day 1

WVU82_rivals

Senior
May 29, 2001
199,095
675
0
https://www.defense.gov/News/Articl...against-isil-in-syria-iraq?source=GovDelivery

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Jan. 22, 2017 —U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq yesterday,Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolveofficials reported today.

Officials reported details of yesterday’s strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

Attack, bomber, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 25 strikes consisting of 39 engagements in Syria:

-- Near Bab, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit, destroyed an artillery piece and damaged a tactical vehicle.

-- Near Raqqa, 22 strikes engaged 12 ISIL tactical units; destroyed nine fighting positions, two tunnels, two tanks an improvised-bomb factory and an ISIL headquarters; and suppressed three ISIL tactical units.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, a strike destroyed two oil well heads.

Strikes in Iraq

Attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted six strikes consisting of 16 engagements in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:

-- Near Rutbah, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a tactical vehicle, two weapons caches and a mortar.

-- Near Beiji, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle.

-- Near Kisik, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle and an ISIL-held building.

-- Near Mosul, two strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units; destroyed a vehicle-borne-bomb factory, a vehicle-borne bomb, a tank, three fighting positions and a vehicle; and suppressed an ISIL tactical unit.

-- Near Tal Afar, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a semi-truck and a command-and-control node.

Task force officials define a strike as one or more kinetic events that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single, sometimes cumulative, effect. Therefore, officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIL vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against buildings, vehicles and weapon systems in a compound, for example, having the cumulative effect of making those targets harder or impossible for ISIL to use. Accordingly, officials said, they do not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target. Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the ISIL terrorist group and the threat it poses to Iraq, Syria, the region and the wider international community. The destruction of targets in Syria and Iraq further limits ISIL's ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said.

Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Syria include the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.
 

WVU82_rivals

Senior
May 29, 2001
199,095
675
0
---needs confirmed---

ISIS leader al-Baghdadi 'critically injured' in MIGHTY air strike after 'advisers killed'

The monstrous leader is said to have been wounded during a bombing raid in Al-Ba’aj, Northern Iraq, although US defence officials said they have “no validation” or “further information” on the alleged attack.

After a £20million ($25 million) bounty was put on his head, Baghdadi was said to have gone “underground” before the end of last year, as his jihadi’s lost swathes of Mosul to Iraqi forces.

Sleeping underground in a suicide vest, the Iraqi leader was said to have become increasingly paranoid, ordering executions whilst under attack from Iraqi and Peshmerga troops.

Shortly after, conflicting unofficial reports claiming the leader was badly wounded or killed of a similar nature emerged, US Pentagon spokesman, Peter Cook, said: “We do think Baghdadi is alive and is still leading ISIL [ISIS] and we are obviously doing everything we can to track his movements.”

In December, US defence officials said the leader is becoming increasingly isolated as he was facing difficulties finding "advisers and confidants to speak with” because they have died.

Amid conflicting reports of the leader’s health, another ISIS leader whose role was to execute women, has been killed.

Abu Abdel Rahmen, from Saudi Arabia, was killed by an unknown gunmen in Iraq last week.

A source told the International Business Times: “The unknown gunmen shot at Abu Abdel Rahman, ISIS’ senior commander, in al-Aksari region in the centre of Mosul city, and he was killed right on the spot.”

British and US forces were said to have collaborated, in early January, to capture the leader who is a "dead man walking".

Speaking to the Daily Star Sunday, an unnamed defence source said: “The head of IS is now a priority target. That means the SAS will be using all of their experience and skill to track him down.

“He is a dead man walking, it’s just a matter of time. He’s going to be killed by ground troops or taken out in an air strike or drone strike.”

It is not clear if Baghdadi is still in the besieged city, where he initiated the terror network in 2014.
 
Last edited: