Operation Inherent Resolve:Pounding ISIL From the Air - plus NATO AWACS now involved

According to a news release from Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve,US and coalition forces continued to press their campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant on 1 November.Attack,bomber,fighter and remotely piloted aircraft,as well as rocket artillery,participated in the raids over Iraq,which are coordinated with and in support of the government of Iraq.Among the results reported were:
-Near Beiji,a strike destroyed an ISIL supply boat and a weapons cache.
-Near the ISIL stronghold Mosul,which has been encircled and is currently under ground assault by Iraqi Security Forces and their allies,three strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units,destroying four vehicles,a mortar system and a fighting position;damaging two other fighting positions;and suppressing three tactical units,two heavy machine guns and a mortar system.
-Near Sinjar,a strke destroyed an ISIL fighting position.*
Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Iraq include the US,Australia,Belgium,Canada,Denmark,France,Jordan,the Netherlands,Saudi Arabia,Turkey,the UAE and the UK.The US and France are known to have been conducting artillery strikes.*
NATO E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft are now providing military intelligence in the form of surveillance and situational awareness to OIR.The fleet of 16 aircraft,based at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen,Germany,are staffed by multinational crews drawn from NATO Allies.They may be forward-deployed to operating bases in Greece,Italy,Norway and Turkey.Staying in international airspace or over Turkey,their radars will monitor medium altitude targets in Iraq and Syria within 520 kilometers;and low flying targets within 400 kilometers.

War On ISIL:Air and Artillery Campaign Update

On 4 July 2016,attack,bomber,fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted strikes in Syria,among them:
near Abu Kamal,a strike destroyed 6 ISIL oil wellheads;
near Ayn Isa,a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle;
near Manbij,8 sorties struck ISIL tactical units and destroyed 8 fighting positions and a vehicle.*
In Iraq,fighter,attack and remotely piloted aircraft and rocket artillery conducted strikes coordinated with and in support of Iraq's government.Ground-based artillery fire or in counterfire support to manoeuvre roles is not classified as a strike.Strikes included:
near Beiji,a strike destroyed an ISIL fighting position and a trench;
near Mosul,a strike struck an ISIL bomb factory;
near Sinjar,a strike suppressed ISIL rocket fire;
near Qayyarah,3 strikes destroyed an ISIL excavator,aircraft hangar,2 vehicles,18 rocket rails,11 rockets,a boat and a checkpoint.*
All strikes were conducted by members of the anti-ISIL Operation Inherent Resolve coalition.

War On ISIL:New Chairman Visits Iraq;ISF Reclaim Beiji;A-10s Deployed

A number of developments in the War On ISIL are in the news.Yesterday,General Joseph Dunford,USMC,new Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,visited the Iraqi city of Irbil in the north of the country while on the first trip of his tenure,having previously stopped in Israel and Jordan.In Irbil GEN Dunford met with Iraqi Kurdistan President Masoud Barzani at the Kurdish White House.
I hope coming here so soon after I assumed my new position indicates how important this endeavour is to us,GEN Dunford said.And upfront I want to thank you for your cooperation and the bravery of your forces.*
At the Kurdish Training Coordination Center in Irbil,which is under Italian command,journalists were briefed on the training regimen by a senior coalition officer.There are currently 4200 Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in training at the three training areas.Coming off the front line just 60 kilometers away,they are trained for 5-6 weeks before re-entering the battlefield.The training is tailored to the specific needs of the units.
Besides Italy,other NATO countries contributing to the force of about 300 instructors are Norway,the UK,Germany,the Netherlands and Hungary-plus NATO partner Finland.The Kurdish Peshmerga's infantry skills are reinforced,and they are taught the capabilities of new weapons coming into their system and how to function as a unit.Other topics include marksmanship;counter-ground tactics;combat medicine;manoeuvering as a unit;and forward observing.A special emphasis is placed on dealing with IEDs,which cause 80-85% of Kurdish casualties.Tactics,techniques and procedures against the devices are instilled.
The officer said he was impressed with the brave,dedicated and coherent units of the Kurdish forces.Both in Iraq and Syria,they have become a critical ground combat element of Operation Inherent Resolve,assisted by close air support from the OIR coalition.Up to 5,000 Kurds can be trained at one time.*
In the west,eight brigades of Sunni tribal militias are being trained for the effort to retake capital city Ramadi and the rest of Anbar Province.Iraqi Security Forces and militias have encircled Ramadi as a first step in retaking the city,where some 600-1,000 ISIL militants are based.*
In Salahuddin Province,Central Iraq,a major offensive by Iraqi Security Forces-principally the counterterrorism service-along with federal and local police,plus Iranian-backed Shia paramilitary militias,and aided by OIR coalition close air support,has been mounted to clear the province of the ISIL Islamist extremists.It is seen as a precursor operation to the looming battle for the ISIL northern stronghold of Mosul.Last week,the ISF and partners retook the strategic Beiji oil refinery and today,20 October,announced the recapture of Beiji city itself from ISIL.*
On the Syrian front,the US Air Force has just deployed 12 A-10 Warthog ground attack aircraft to Incirlik Air Base,Turkey,to assist in the OIR Syria campaign.These will enhance close air support to the YPG Kurdish Forces and the Syrian Arab Coalition as they battle ISIL.

CENTCOM Update:The War On ISIL - plus Australia's first Syria strike

On Friday,11 September,US Central Command spokesman Colonel Patrick Ryder,US Air Force,gave a progress report on Operation Inherent Resolve to journalists via teleconference.The OIR coalition's support continues to enable indigenous forces by applying pressure on ISIL's key command and control areas;logistics nodes;staging areas;and lines of communication.A special focus has been the Beiji and Ramadi areas,COL Ryder said.For example,one recent airstrike targeted a key ISIL staging area and weapons depot just west of Ramadi in a soccer stadium.
The Beiji oil refinery is still being contested,with both ISIL and the Iraqi Security Forces bringing in reinforcements.From 2-9 September,13 coalition airstrikes took out a number of ISIL personnel there;nearly 100 vehicles;and several weapons and supply caches,according to COL Ryder.ISIL continues to put up a fight,but we assess they have lost several hundred fighters and continue to reinforce failure by sending in additional forces.*
Besides airstrikes,the OIR coalition Building Partner Capacity sites have trained around 13,000 ISF since the operation began,with 4,000 more troops currently in training.We have seen graduates of this program subsequently operate effectively in areas around Ramadi and other parts of Iraq,such as the Iraqi forces trained in large scale IED clearing who are reducing ISF and civilian casualties.
On another front,the advise and assist mission continues to enable ground forces in Iraq by helping with planning ground operations;intelligence sharing;integrating air support into operations;logistics planning;command and control;and communications.*
In Syria,the OIR coalition's train-and-equip programme continues training vetted Syrian opposition force recruits,with a fourth class recently having begun their training.It's important to keep in mind this programme is still in its early stages and the forces trained are expected to be additive in nature.This will further contribute to what's already being done by the Syrian Kurds,Arabs and other anti-ISIL forces.*
In the latest airstrikes in Syria,fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 4 sorties.Near Dayr Ar Zawr,2 sorties struck an ISIL crude oil collection point and destroyed an ISIL excavator.Near Kobani,a sortie destroyed an ISIL artillery piece.Near Mara,a sortie struck an ISIL tactical unit.*
In Iraq,attack;bomber;fighter;fighter attack;and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 14 airstrikes coordinated with the Iraqi government.Among them,near Beiji,4 sorties struck 1 large and 2 small ISIL tactical units and destroyed 6 ISIL buildings;3 ISIL vehicles;an ISIL anti-aircraft artillery piece;and an ISIL structure.
Near Ramadi,2 sorties destroyed 4 ISIL weapons caches;an ISIL armoured personnel carrier;and an ISIL vehicle-borne IED.Near Tuz,a sortie struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position.*
The Iraq airstrikes were carried out by the US;Australia;Canada;Denmark;France;Jordan;the Netherlands;and the UK.
The Syria airstrikes were carried out by the US;Bahrain;Canada;Jordan;Saudi Arabia;new participant Turkey;and the UAE.
Update:On Tuesday,Australia revealed it had conducted its first airstrike in Syria on Monday 14 September.Two RAAF Hornets identified an ISIL armoured personnel carrier hidden in an ISIL compound,according to Defence Minister Kevin Andrews.One of the Hornets attacked the APC with a precision guided weapon,destroying it.
Last week,Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Australia was extending its OIR airstrikes from Iraq into Syria at the request of the US.Australia has been conducting Iraq airstrikes for about a year.

CENTCOM Gives Iraq Campaign Update-Iraq receives F-16s

The first 4 of the Iraqi Air Force's 36 new Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcons have arrived at Balad Air Base,Iraq,their pilots and crews having undergone extensive US Air Force training in Arizona.The NATO platform aircraft gives the IAF the interoperability necessary to conduct operations with coalition forces,said US Central Command spokesman Colonel Patrick Ryder,USAF in a teleconference with reporters on 24 July.
COL Ryder also gave an assessment of the Iraqi Security Forces' recent progress against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.They are in the process of isolating Ramadi in Anbar Province,to conduct a deliberate clearing operation to retake the provincial capital city,COL Ryder noted.The counterattack began on 12 July,and since then,76 Operation Inherent Resolve airstrikes have weakened ISIL by targeting enemy positions,weapons caches and equipment.ISIL is resisting by using vehicle bombs,suicide bombers and other tactics to slow the ISF advance,as well as by circulating propaganda to mitigate their losses and overstate operational performance.CENTCOM is encouraged by the ISF well-developed and comprehensive plan they have put together and executed.
The majority of Beiji is now under ISF control,although its oil refinery,the largest in Iraq,is still being contested.In the North,the Kurdish forces hold their defensive lines from Sinjar to the north side of Mosul,then down to the north of Kirkuk aginst ISIL's harassing attacks centered between Sinjar and Mosul.Since 12 July,coalition aircraft have conducted 16 dynamic airstrikes on enemy personnel,weapons and equipment in the Mosul area.
Overall,we've removed hundreds more fighters from the battlefield in Iraq and Syria,including numerous ISIL leaders and facilitators.This inevitably reduces the organisation's effectiveness and forces them to make tough choices on how and where to apply resources,COL Ryder concluded.*
Among the latest airstrike results as of 28 July:
Fighter,fighter-attack,bomber and remotely-piloted aircraft conducted airstrikes in Syria.Near Hasakah,7 sorties destroyed 4 ISIL fighting positions,a staging position,a bunker,a motorcycle and a structure.
Near Aleppo,2 sorties destroyed a vehicle,7 fighting positions and a bunker.*
There were 23 airstrikes in Iraq approved by the Iraqi Ministry of Defence:
Near Beiji,3 sorties struck 2 tactical units and terrain,denying ISIL a tactical advantage,and destroying 2 buildings.
Near Makhmur,3 sorties destroyed 19 fighting positions,10 tunnels and 3 vehicles.
Near Mosul,2 sorties destroyed 2 fighting positions and a vehicle.
Near Ramadi,6 sorties destroyed an excavator,2 fighting positions,a resupply truck,a mortar position,an anti-aircraft artillery weapon,a vehicle and a structure.
Near Sinjar,5 sorties destroyed a vehicle,a heavy machine gun,5 fighting positions and a light machine gun.
Those participating in the Iraq strikes included the US,Australia,Canada,Denmark, France,Jordan,the Netherlands and the UK.
Participating in the Syria strikes were the US,Bahrain,Canada,Jordan,Saudi Arabia and the UAE.*
Lockheed Martin (LMT)

Operation Inherent Resolve:Progress in Battle of Beiji;Major Air Strikes

On Friday 22 May,the Pentagon announced in a press release that Iraqi security forces and federal police,enabled by the Operation Inherent Resolve Coalition,have successfully cleared and established a ground route into the Beiji oil refinery.For several months,control of the refinery has been contested by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militants and Iraqi security forces.Ground forces,supported by coalition air strikes and reconnaissance,advise and assist elements,have cleared through the area,established route security and reclaimed key terrain.
Brigadier General Thomas Weidly,US Marine Corps,chief of staff of Combined Joint Task Force OIR,stated that,in the past 72 hours,we have seen the Iraqi security forces make steady,measured progress in regaining some of the area leading to the Beiji oil refinery despite the significant ISIL resistance in the form of IEDs,suicide vehicle borne IEDs,as well as heavy weapon and rocket fire attacks.In spite of the isolated nature of where the Iraqi security forces have been operating and the constant threat from ISIL,creating a safe route to the refinery will allow supplies and reinforcements to arrive.This will assist security forces in clearing and securing contested areas in and around the refinery.
ISIL has increased the intensity of its assault on the refinery and adjacent areas since they were pushed out of Tikrit,the Pentagon said.*
In the OIR air campaign between 8 am 24 May and 8 am 25 May,a major series of air strikes on ISIL targets in Syria took place near Hasakah.A total of 7 sorties destroyed 4 fighting positions,a checkpoint,an excavator,a vehicle borne IED and a vehicle.No civilian casualties were reported in the raid,which took place in an area where Kurdish forces had reported that a vehicle borne IED had resulted in an undetermined number of civilian injuries.
Near Raqqah,2 sorties destroyed an excavator and a tank.
Near Dayr Az Zawr,a sortie destroyed a multiple rocket launcher vehicle.*
In Iraq over the same time period,there was a heavy series of 25 air strikes on ISIL targets approved by the Iraqi Ministry of Defense.
Near Baghdadi,5 sorties destroyed 4 structures,2 fighting positions,an armoured excavator,a heavy machine gun and a vehicle borne IED.
Near Beiji,3 sorties destroyed a dump truck,an armoured excavator and a tanker.
Near Fallujah,a sortie destroyed an anti-aircraft artillery piece and a fighting position.
Near Hit,a sortie struck a vehicle borne IED facility.
Near Mosul,a major series of strikes consisting of 9 sorties destroyed 4 heavy machine guns,3 buildings,an armoured vehicle,an excavator and a vehicle borne IED.
Particpants in Syria include the US,Bahrain,Canada,Jordan,Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Participants in Iraq include the US,Australia,Belgium,Canada,Denmark,France,Jordan,the Netherlands and the UK.

ISIL Prison Break;Kurdish General Killed;Operation Inherent Resolve Airstrikes

ISIL is claiming responsibility for a prison break in Khalis,Diyala Province,Iraq on Friday 8 May.Fifteen IEDs were detonated against army and police convoys and vehicles around the prison to begin a coordinated attack,ISIL said;while the Iraqi Interior Ministry says the melee began as a fight between prisoners that turned into a riot.
In any event,inside the prison,prisoners managed to break into the prison armoury and seize its weapons.In the ensuing firefight with security forces,some 50 inmates and 12 police were killed;while more than 50 prisoners escaped,nine of them convicted terrorists.
Iraqi security forces cordoned off the area and searched homes for the escapees.It was a small prison break in contrast with those at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison in July of 2013,when more than 500 prisoners were freed,including leading Islamist extremists;or the June 2014 breaks in Tikrit and Mosul,when hundreds of Sunni Muslims were freed and recruited into ISIL.It seems that fomenting prison breaks is a key element of ISIL's strategy as a means of garnering headlines,freeing terrorists and gleaning recruits.*
Major General Salah Delmani of the 118th Brigade Kurdish Peshmerga and two of is bodyguards were killed by a bomb blast near his car Tuesday near the city of Kirkuk in Northern Iraq.No one has claimed responsibility,but ISIL controls part of Kirkuk Province outside the city,which is under Kurdish control.ISIL desires to capture the city because of the oil fields nearby and has attacked it many times.MGEN Delmani was commander of Daquq village,which is south of Kirkuk on the strategic road to Baghdad which was recently recaptured from ISIL by the Kurds.*
Between 8 am Sunday 10 May and 8am Monday,the US-led coalition carried out a number of airstrikes on ISIL targets in Iraq and Syria in support of Operation Inherent Resolve.
In Syria,attack,fighter and remotely piloted aircraft carried out 9 sorties.
Near Hahaskah,6 sorties destroyed 3 ISIL fighting positions,3 vehicles,2 mortar positions,4 heavy machine guns and a supply point.Near Raqqah,1 sortie destroyed 2 vehicles.Near Kobani.2 sorties destroyed a mortar position and a vehicle.
Those participating in airstrikes on ISIL in Syria include the US,Bahrain,Canada,Jordan,Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
In Iraq,near Beiji,2 sorties destroyed a vehicle.Near Fallujah,2 sorties destroyed 4 fighting positions and a vehicle.Near Haditha,1 sortie destroyed 2 fighting positions.Near Mosul,2 sorties struck a fighting position and land features giving ISIL a tactical advantage,the Pentagon said.
Those participating in airstrikes on ISIL in Iraq include the US,Australia,Belgium,Canada,Denmark,France,Jordan,the Netherlands and the UK.