According to US Central Command,US Forces conducted a strike against al-Qaida in Syria (AQ-S) leaders at a training facility near Aleppo Province on 30 June 2019.The operation targeted AQ-S operatives for plotting external attacks that threaten US citizens,partners and innocent civilians,the CENTCOM statement said.
CENTCOM goes on to explain that Northwest Syria remains a safe haven where AQ-S leaders actively coordinate terrorist activities,including planning attacks throughout the region and the West:
With our allies and partners,we will continue to target Daesh (another name for Islamic State) and al-Qaida to prevent both groups from using Syria as a safe haven.*
The monitor group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights described the strike as "rocket shelling" that occurred at 4:20 pm and resulted in the killing of two AQ-S commanders,one of whom was Algerian and the other Tunisian;while 14 other fighters and commanders were wounded,with substantial material damage to the compound.*
AQ-S is also known as Hurras Al-Din.
Showing posts with label US Central Command. Show all posts
Showing posts with label US Central Command. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 2, 2019
Tuesday, April 17, 2018
Eager Lion 18 Launched in Jordan - protecting the desert kingdom and US national security
From 15-26 April 2018,some 3600 US Marines and Sailors will join the Jordanian Armed Forces in Exercise Eager Lion 18,one of US CENTCOM's premier drills.The annual,countrywide exercise involves scenarios ranging from strategic bombing missions to maritime security operations,and even a ground forces attack by a fictional adversary.*
The drills seek to improve the troops' collective ability to plan and project presence in a coalition environment.They will increase US-Jordanian security and warfighting skills,allowing them to better address common threats to regional security.For example,in one scenario,Marines of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit will stage an embassy reinforcement and noncombatant evacuation,conducting bilateral sustainment training in a variety of combat skillsets.
According to 26th MEU commanding officer COL Farrell J. Sullivan:
Eager Lion allows us to practice key mission essential tasks that span the range of military operations to resolve conflict and conduct combat operations against an enemy in remote,austere environments that would otherwise be inaccessible.This exercise will allow us to demonstrate how we can project combat power across great distances and sustain those forces from amphibious shipping.When it comes to crisis response,the amphibious ready group/MEU team is the force of choice.When called upon,we will be ready.*
US Navy ships participating include the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) and the dock landing ship USS Oak Hill (LSD 51),carrying components of the 26th MEU.The ships and personnel constitute the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group.*
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,led by His Majesty King Abdullah II,is 75% desert,with one small stretch of seacoast in the west of the country.It has long been one of America's closest allies in the Middle East.
The drills seek to improve the troops' collective ability to plan and project presence in a coalition environment.They will increase US-Jordanian security and warfighting skills,allowing them to better address common threats to regional security.For example,in one scenario,Marines of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit will stage an embassy reinforcement and noncombatant evacuation,conducting bilateral sustainment training in a variety of combat skillsets.
According to 26th MEU commanding officer COL Farrell J. Sullivan:
Eager Lion allows us to practice key mission essential tasks that span the range of military operations to resolve conflict and conduct combat operations against an enemy in remote,austere environments that would otherwise be inaccessible.This exercise will allow us to demonstrate how we can project combat power across great distances and sustain those forces from amphibious shipping.When it comes to crisis response,the amphibious ready group/MEU team is the force of choice.When called upon,we will be ready.*
US Navy ships participating include the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) and the dock landing ship USS Oak Hill (LSD 51),carrying components of the 26th MEU.The ships and personnel constitute the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group.*
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,led by His Majesty King Abdullah II,is 75% desert,with one small stretch of seacoast in the west of the country.It has long been one of America's closest allies in the Middle East.
Wednesday, November 30, 2016
British Officer Takes Command of US Navy Task Force
On 25 November 2016,Royal Navy Commodore Andrew Burns,commander,Amphibious Task Group embarked on the Royal Navy flagship HMS Ocean (L12),took command of US Naval Forces Central Command Task Force 50 (CTF 50) in the Arabian Gulf.This is the first time a Royal Navy officer has commanded a US task force in the Middle East and is a significant step in combined maritime operations,US Naval Forces CENTCOM said.*
HMS Ocean is a helicopter carrier and amphibious assault ship and will provide continued forward presence in the Gulf.It can deliver Sailors and Marines by helicopter or landing craft.*
CDRE Burns,assuming command of CTF 50 from Rear Admiral James Malloy,USN,commander of Carrier Strike Group 10,said:
Together we have had an enduring presence in this region that has contributed stability,order on the high seas and freedom of navigation,and ensuring the free flow of commerce,so vital to the prosperity of our respective nations.Today marks the start of another chapter in the partnership as the Royal Navy takes on the privilege of leading a US task force in the Middle East for the first time.*
HMS Ocean will provide a range of flexible and adaptable capabilities to perform theatre security cooperation efforts and maritime security operations aimed at providing continuous forward presence as the USS Eisenhower (CVN 69) leaves CENTCOM's Area of Responsibility.The Eisenhower completed 1770 combat sorties delivering 1903 ordnances from both the Mediterranean Sea and Arabian Gulf in support of the anti-ISIL Operation Inherent Resolve.
HMS Ocean is a helicopter carrier and amphibious assault ship and will provide continued forward presence in the Gulf.It can deliver Sailors and Marines by helicopter or landing craft.*
CDRE Burns,assuming command of CTF 50 from Rear Admiral James Malloy,USN,commander of Carrier Strike Group 10,said:
Together we have had an enduring presence in this region that has contributed stability,order on the high seas and freedom of navigation,and ensuring the free flow of commerce,so vital to the prosperity of our respective nations.Today marks the start of another chapter in the partnership as the Royal Navy takes on the privilege of leading a US task force in the Middle East for the first time.*
HMS Ocean will provide a range of flexible and adaptable capabilities to perform theatre security cooperation efforts and maritime security operations aimed at providing continuous forward presence as the USS Eisenhower (CVN 69) leaves CENTCOM's Area of Responsibility.The Eisenhower completed 1770 combat sorties delivering 1903 ordnances from both the Mediterranean Sea and Arabian Gulf in support of the anti-ISIL Operation Inherent Resolve.
Tuesday, September 20, 2016
US Marines To Be First In with the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter - possible combat mission in the Middle East
The US Marine Corps is first to fight,according to their tradition.In the case of the F-35B Lightning II Joint Strik Fighter,they may well be first to fly the new aircraft in the Middle Eastern theatre of operations as well,according to Lieutenant General Robert Walsh,commander of US Marine Corps Combat Development Command and Deputy Commandant for Combat Development and Integration.Speaking with reporters at a breakfast on 30 August 2016,LTGEN Walsh said that:
The Marine Corps has been out in fron with the F-35B.We're the first ones that are going to be deploying it.We are going to be deploying it on the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD-1).The interesting thing is,not only are we deploying it on the Wasp (in support of Asia-Pacific exercises);we're also going to deploy it on the USS Essex (LHD-2) during the same year in US CENTCOM (including the Middle East).So not only are we going to do one;we are going to do two.So that's quite the challenge,to get two squadrons aboard two ships and deploy them.*
Sixteen F-35Bs will be stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakumi,Japan.Then six of these will join the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and link up with Third Battalion,Fifth Marines,a regiment that is to be the experimental force of the US Marine Corps for two years.About eight months later,a Southern California MEU will deploy with F-35Bs on the USS Essex under CENTCOM.*
A lot of it's going to be the school of hard knocks.It's probably not the way we would have wanted it,but we want to exploit the fifth generation.That's what I think it is as we look at this airplane.We've been after this for a long time.We're replacing our F/A-18 Hornets and Super Hornets;our AV-8B Harriers;and our EA-6 Prowlers with that airplane,LTGEN Walsh noted.*
The second squadron of F-35Bs being stood up at Iwakumi makes the deployment into combat possible,Marine Corps Commandant General Robert Neller told the School of Strategic and International Studies in Washington in early August.The long delay in delivery of the F-35 has resulted in a shortfall of aviation readiness as the Corps scraped by,keeping the older aircraft flying longer than had been anticipated,GEN Neller explained.*
The US Marines will not only be leading the US military in deploying the F-35,but the Royal Navy as well.When the new British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth makes its initial deployment in 2021,guess who will be flying their F-35Bs off of it?It may be that the RN will not be ready to fully shoulder the responsibility at that time,so they invited the US Marines to deploy with them.
The Marine Corps has been out in fron with the F-35B.We're the first ones that are going to be deploying it.We are going to be deploying it on the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD-1).The interesting thing is,not only are we deploying it on the Wasp (in support of Asia-Pacific exercises);we're also going to deploy it on the USS Essex (LHD-2) during the same year in US CENTCOM (including the Middle East).So not only are we going to do one;we are going to do two.So that's quite the challenge,to get two squadrons aboard two ships and deploy them.*
Sixteen F-35Bs will be stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakumi,Japan.Then six of these will join the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and link up with Third Battalion,Fifth Marines,a regiment that is to be the experimental force of the US Marine Corps for two years.About eight months later,a Southern California MEU will deploy with F-35Bs on the USS Essex under CENTCOM.*
A lot of it's going to be the school of hard knocks.It's probably not the way we would have wanted it,but we want to exploit the fifth generation.That's what I think it is as we look at this airplane.We've been after this for a long time.We're replacing our F/A-18 Hornets and Super Hornets;our AV-8B Harriers;and our EA-6 Prowlers with that airplane,LTGEN Walsh noted.*
The second squadron of F-35Bs being stood up at Iwakumi makes the deployment into combat possible,Marine Corps Commandant General Robert Neller told the School of Strategic and International Studies in Washington in early August.The long delay in delivery of the F-35 has resulted in a shortfall of aviation readiness as the Corps scraped by,keeping the older aircraft flying longer than had been anticipated,GEN Neller explained.*
The US Marines will not only be leading the US military in deploying the F-35,but the Royal Navy as well.When the new British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth makes its initial deployment in 2021,guess who will be flying their F-35Bs off of it?It may be that the RN will not be ready to fully shoulder the responsibility at that time,so they invited the US Marines to deploy with them.
Tuesday, April 12, 2016
B-52 Stratofortress Takes On Its Next Combat Role for US CENTCOM
On 9 April,at least 2 US Air Force B-52H Stratofortress bombers landed at Al Udeid Air Base,Qatar after a long haul flight from Barksdale Air Force Base,Louisiana.According to Air Force Central Command,they were deployed in support of theatre requirements and the anti-ISIL Operation Inherent Resolve.The B-52 will provide the coalition continued precision and deliver desired airpower effects,said Lieutenant General Charles Q. Brown,Commander,US Air Forces CENTCOM and Combined Forces Air Component.As a multi-role platform,the B-52 offers diverse capabilities including delivery of the precision weapons and the flexibility and endurance needed to support the combatant commanders' priorities and strengthen the coalition team.*
The long-range B-52 can perform a variety of missions including strategic attack;close air support;air interdiction;and maritime operations.Crews will be available for missions to both Iraq and Syria.The B-52 demonstrates our continued resolve to apply persistent pressure on ISIL and defend the region in any future contingency,LTGEN Brown added.*
The deployment is the first time the B-52s have been based in the CENTCOM Area of Responsibility since being based in Saudi Arabia 26 years ago during Operation Desert Storm.B-52s were last deployed in a combat role during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan in May 2006.*
At a 7 March State of the Air Force briefing,Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James disclosed that the B-1B Lancer bombers had returned from their OIR mission in January.While they will be receiving much needed modernisation and maintenance,the venerable B-52 with its similar capacity and accuracy and endurance remains ready and able to meet combatant commanders' requirements.There have been recent infrastructure improvements that now allow the necessary support to deploy the B-52 in theatre,Ms.James noted.*
Indeed,the Air Force intends to keep the Boeing B-52s flying as far out as 2040,since they are seen as providing certain missions that are hard to replicate by other aircraft,primarily with regard to the range and payload aspects.The bomber's payload can include cruise missiles with both nuclear and conventional warheads,as well as Joint Direct Attack Munitions,cluster and gravity bombs.*
Boeing (BA)
The long-range B-52 can perform a variety of missions including strategic attack;close air support;air interdiction;and maritime operations.Crews will be available for missions to both Iraq and Syria.The B-52 demonstrates our continued resolve to apply persistent pressure on ISIL and defend the region in any future contingency,LTGEN Brown added.*
The deployment is the first time the B-52s have been based in the CENTCOM Area of Responsibility since being based in Saudi Arabia 26 years ago during Operation Desert Storm.B-52s were last deployed in a combat role during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan in May 2006.*
At a 7 March State of the Air Force briefing,Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James disclosed that the B-1B Lancer bombers had returned from their OIR mission in January.While they will be receiving much needed modernisation and maintenance,the venerable B-52 with its similar capacity and accuracy and endurance remains ready and able to meet combatant commanders' requirements.There have been recent infrastructure improvements that now allow the necessary support to deploy the B-52 in theatre,Ms.James noted.*
Indeed,the Air Force intends to keep the Boeing B-52s flying as far out as 2040,since they are seen as providing certain missions that are hard to replicate by other aircraft,primarily with regard to the range and payload aspects.The bomber's payload can include cruise missiles with both nuclear and conventional warheads,as well as Joint Direct Attack Munitions,cluster and gravity bombs.*
Boeing (BA)
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
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.
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.
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
The War Room:The US Air Force and the War On ISIL-plus the air strike on Libya
The hot,dusty expanse of Al Udeid Air Base in the deserts of Qatar is the home of US Central Command's Combined Forces Air Component,Lieutenant General John Hesterman III,commander.Since August 8,coalition airpower has significantly degraded ISIL's ability to organise,project and sustain combat power while taking exceptional care to limit collateral damage and civilian casualties,LTGEN Hesterman said.Coalition airpower has helped ground forces regain territory,removed significant numbers of fighters from the battlefield,and eliminated the majority of ISIL oil refining capability.*
As the enemy's tactics change,so have our air power tactics,and we are still fighting and eliminating ISIL fighters,added Major John Easton,Air Forces CENTCOM tactics officer.ISIL is very much afraid of our ability to strike them.*
I expect my team to lean forward,and they are,LTGEN Hesterman continued.Not only has airpower been effective,but it has enabled virtually every victory on the battlefield and given the ground forces time to regroup and get their forces in order.It's also given all our coalition nations the space and time to execute the international lines of effort for countering flow of foreign fighters;countering ISIL financing;providing humanitarian assistance;containing ISIL's messaging and stabilising liberated areas,all of which will be necessary to finish ISIL.
Responding to critics of the air campaign,Lieutenant Colonel Dave Haworth,Combined Air Operations Center Combat Operations Director,said that while pilots struck large numbers of targets in Desert Storm and the opening days of Operation Iraqi Freedom,those fights had extremely different and available target sets.In previous campaigns,we were fighting against a conventional military that massed in the open,away from the civilian population.Those target sets don't exist in this fight now.We're fighting an enemy that hides behind civilians.You simply can't compare then to now.*
A very recent example of what air power has achieved is the success of Kurdish YPG and Free Syrian Army ground forces in recapturing most of the strategic town of Tal Abyad,Syria from ISIL near the Turkish border.Only pockets of ISIL resistance remain in the town,which is a critical link in ISIL's supply line to their capital Raqqa,80 kilometers to the north.The Kurds and FSA entered the town on Monday 15 June after a day of swift advances enabled by coalition air strikes.More than 16,000 residents of Tal Abyad and nearby villages were displaced by the heavy fighting-terrorised by ISIL and bombarded from all sides,a refugee told the Al Jazeera news channel.The main push to the town had begun on 11 June.*
In another effective use of air power,in this case against al Qaida militant leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar,Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James confirmed that the Air Force had carried out an air strike in Libya with precision weapons.It was the first US air strike in Libya since 2011.Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren,US Army,added that two Boeing F-15 Strike Eagles carried out the raid with 500 lb. bombs in Eastern Libya,escorted by observation drones.
Belmokhtar was leader of an al Qaida affiliate which he co-founded called Al-Murabitoun,having formerly been chief of Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb,AQIM.In that capacity,he was mastermind of the 2013 seizure of a gas plant in Algeria that resulted in the deaths of 38 hostages,including three Americans and several British.Belmokhtar also claimed responsibility for a double suicide bombing in Niger that killed 20 people.
The internationally recognised government of Libya stated on Tuesday that Belmokhtar and other militants were killed in the US raid,which took place on a farm south of Ajdabiya,about 160 kilometers south of Benghazi,as Belmokhtar met leaders from other Islamist extremist groups,including Ansar al-Sharia.*
In 2014,US special operations forces mounted an operation in Libya in which they captured Ahmed Abu Khattala.an organizer of the 2012 attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi that killed US Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.*
Boeing (BA)
As the enemy's tactics change,so have our air power tactics,and we are still fighting and eliminating ISIL fighters,added Major John Easton,Air Forces CENTCOM tactics officer.ISIL is very much afraid of our ability to strike them.*
I expect my team to lean forward,and they are,LTGEN Hesterman continued.Not only has airpower been effective,but it has enabled virtually every victory on the battlefield and given the ground forces time to regroup and get their forces in order.It's also given all our coalition nations the space and time to execute the international lines of effort for countering flow of foreign fighters;countering ISIL financing;providing humanitarian assistance;containing ISIL's messaging and stabilising liberated areas,all of which will be necessary to finish ISIL.
Responding to critics of the air campaign,Lieutenant Colonel Dave Haworth,Combined Air Operations Center Combat Operations Director,said that while pilots struck large numbers of targets in Desert Storm and the opening days of Operation Iraqi Freedom,those fights had extremely different and available target sets.In previous campaigns,we were fighting against a conventional military that massed in the open,away from the civilian population.Those target sets don't exist in this fight now.We're fighting an enemy that hides behind civilians.You simply can't compare then to now.*
A very recent example of what air power has achieved is the success of Kurdish YPG and Free Syrian Army ground forces in recapturing most of the strategic town of Tal Abyad,Syria from ISIL near the Turkish border.Only pockets of ISIL resistance remain in the town,which is a critical link in ISIL's supply line to their capital Raqqa,80 kilometers to the north.The Kurds and FSA entered the town on Monday 15 June after a day of swift advances enabled by coalition air strikes.More than 16,000 residents of Tal Abyad and nearby villages were displaced by the heavy fighting-terrorised by ISIL and bombarded from all sides,a refugee told the Al Jazeera news channel.The main push to the town had begun on 11 June.*
In another effective use of air power,in this case against al Qaida militant leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar,Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James confirmed that the Air Force had carried out an air strike in Libya with precision weapons.It was the first US air strike in Libya since 2011.Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren,US Army,added that two Boeing F-15 Strike Eagles carried out the raid with 500 lb. bombs in Eastern Libya,escorted by observation drones.
Belmokhtar was leader of an al Qaida affiliate which he co-founded called Al-Murabitoun,having formerly been chief of Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb,AQIM.In that capacity,he was mastermind of the 2013 seizure of a gas plant in Algeria that resulted in the deaths of 38 hostages,including three Americans and several British.Belmokhtar also claimed responsibility for a double suicide bombing in Niger that killed 20 people.
The internationally recognised government of Libya stated on Tuesday that Belmokhtar and other militants were killed in the US raid,which took place on a farm south of Ajdabiya,about 160 kilometers south of Benghazi,as Belmokhtar met leaders from other Islamist extremist groups,including Ansar al-Sharia.*
In 2014,US special operations forces mounted an operation in Libya in which they captured Ahmed Abu Khattala.an organizer of the 2012 attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi that killed US Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.*
Boeing (BA)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)