A status report on the war on the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant was presented to journalists by Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren,US Army,on Monday 20 April.Ramadi,capital of Anbar Province,Iraq remains highly contested-it's a tough fight there right now.We're hopeful that coalition air power along with the resolve of the Iraqi ground forces will be able to hold.In Beiji,Iraqi troops successfully linked up with forces on the ground in the oil refinery and have thus far been able to secure the refinery.We are dedicating some air power to the fight and it remains a contested situation.
In Afghanistan,we don't necessarily believe that conditions are such that ISIL would be welcome.We don't see the rebranding of disaffected Taliban and other militants to ISIL as a cause of increased violence in Afghanistan yet,but it is certainly something that we're going to continue to watch.
In Libya,the Department is beginning to see more than a rebranding effort.I think Libya is probably where ISIL most wants to gain a foothold.At this point,they have gained at least a toehold in Libya based on an extraordinary amount of unrest and an almost completely deteriorated security situation.
Nearly every one of the press releases that we issue every day indicates damage to tactical units-that's fighters being killed.So I would submit to you that we've delivered punishing blows to ISIL over the past six months.We've started to see cracks in ISIL's ability to bring on new forces.ISIL is turning now to conscription,to forcing people into their armed forces,and in some cases to child soldiers.So the pressure that the combination of air and ground power we're applying to ISIL is having an effect,COL Warren concluded.*
The Pentagon says in a special report that since the kinetic engagement with the Islamist extremists began in August 2014,ISIL has lost about 25-30% of the territory it held in Iraq.*
In Syria,the Pentagon reports that attack,fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 10 airstrikes between 8 am local on 19 April and 8am on 20 April:
Near Hasakah,three airstrikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and a mortar position,destroying a fighting position.Near Kobani,seven airstrikes struck seven tactical units,destroying two vehicles,a fighting position,mortar tube and an ISIL anti-aircraft artillery piece.
The Royal Canadian Air Force has now joined the air campaign against ISIL targets in Syria,as well as Iraq.They fly the CF-18 Hornet,as well as mission support aircraft.
Showing posts with label Kobani. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kobani. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Air War Heats Up As Syrian Front Concerns-top line warplanes used
Turkey has authorised the use of military force against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria.It has also given permission for other countries to use its bases,such as Incerlik Air Base,in the conflict.
Several US and Arab ally airstrikes have been carried out in the Kobani area of Northern Syria in recent weeks as US allies the Kurdish ground forces attempt to save the strategically important city from Islamic State militants.The IS is trying to stretch its control over a swath of territory more than 100 kilometers-or 62 miles-from its headquarters in Raqqa,Syria to Kobani near the Turkish border.The airstrikes destroyed two IS fighting positions south of Kobani Tuesday.Also,witnesses observed two large plumes of smoke just west of Kobani after hearing the sounds of military aircraft.Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been participating in these Syria airstrikes.
One of the targets struck was an IS staging area/IED factory.
Despite the increased tempo of the air war against them,the militants have succeeded in capturing several villages near the city and making various incursions into it,raising their black and white flag.The IS has seized several buildings on the southern edge of town,as well as a hospital being built on the western side.Kurdish forces were still flying their flag over the center of town as of Tuesday,but are outnumbered and outgunned.*
Over the weekend,US Army Boeing AH-64 Apache helicopter gunships were brought into the air war for the first time to engage the enemy west of Baghdad,a sign of the deteriorating situation in Anbar Province.The targets there,as well as many of them in Kobani,are too close to Kurdish forces or the Turkish border to use fighter aircraft
against.*
On 22 September,the US Air Force sent its front line Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor fighters into combat for the first time ever.The Raptor,a stealth aircraft with internalised weapons bays,were used to strike IS targets in Syria.It was deemed appropriate to send them because of uncertainty about whether Syria might switch on its advanced air defences as the US conducted its first raids over Syria.In the event,Syria did not respond.
The Raptors were sent in the second wave of attacks.Stationed in the Middle East,the fifth generation warplanes can fly very high and fast-more than Mach 1.5-in all weather.The US Air Force has 188 of these agile strike aircraft.*
Also recently brought into the air war over Iraq were the RAF Panavia Tornado fighters.These swept wing aircraft are considered to be among the best high speed/low level attack planes in the world.They flew in from RAF Akrotiri,Cyprus.*
Lockheed Martin(LMT),Boeing(BA)
Several US and Arab ally airstrikes have been carried out in the Kobani area of Northern Syria in recent weeks as US allies the Kurdish ground forces attempt to save the strategically important city from Islamic State militants.The IS is trying to stretch its control over a swath of territory more than 100 kilometers-or 62 miles-from its headquarters in Raqqa,Syria to Kobani near the Turkish border.The airstrikes destroyed two IS fighting positions south of Kobani Tuesday.Also,witnesses observed two large plumes of smoke just west of Kobani after hearing the sounds of military aircraft.Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been participating in these Syria airstrikes.
One of the targets struck was an IS staging area/IED factory.
Despite the increased tempo of the air war against them,the militants have succeeded in capturing several villages near the city and making various incursions into it,raising their black and white flag.The IS has seized several buildings on the southern edge of town,as well as a hospital being built on the western side.Kurdish forces were still flying their flag over the center of town as of Tuesday,but are outnumbered and outgunned.*
Over the weekend,US Army Boeing AH-64 Apache helicopter gunships were brought into the air war for the first time to engage the enemy west of Baghdad,a sign of the deteriorating situation in Anbar Province.The targets there,as well as many of them in Kobani,are too close to Kurdish forces or the Turkish border to use fighter aircraft
against.*
On 22 September,the US Air Force sent its front line Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor fighters into combat for the first time ever.The Raptor,a stealth aircraft with internalised weapons bays,were used to strike IS targets in Syria.It was deemed appropriate to send them because of uncertainty about whether Syria might switch on its advanced air defences as the US conducted its first raids over Syria.In the event,Syria did not respond.
The Raptors were sent in the second wave of attacks.Stationed in the Middle East,the fifth generation warplanes can fly very high and fast-more than Mach 1.5-in all weather.The US Air Force has 188 of these agile strike aircraft.*
Also recently brought into the air war over Iraq were the RAF Panavia Tornado fighters.These swept wing aircraft are considered to be among the best high speed/low level attack planes in the world.They flew in from RAF Akrotiri,Cyprus.*
Lockheed Martin(LMT),Boeing(BA)
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