Operation Inherent Resolve – European Affairs Magazine

Mosul,coalition srikes hits isis waterboard

From a U.S. Central Command News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Jan. 21, 2017 — In three days of operations that began Jan. 18, coalition forces struck 90 watercraft and three barges on the Tigris River in Mosul, Iraq, U.S. Central Command officials reported today.

Many of these watercraft were being used to ferry Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant fighters and equipment across the river from East Mosul to West Mosul in an attempt to escape the Iraqi security forces as they continued to clear the remaining portions of East Mosul, officials said.

Iraqi security forces secured the Eastern bank of all five bridges across the Tigris River in Mosul during the past week of clearing operations, they added, making it difficult for ISIL fighters to flee.

ISIL Fighters Desperate

“We believe this was a desperate attempt to retrograde ISIL fighters now that the Iraqi security forces own the eastern bank of every bridge in Mosul,” said Air Force Col. John L. Dorrian, spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve. “This is one more example of how the coalition is supporting the military defeat of ISIL by launching airstrikes while Iraqi military complete the clearance of eastern Mosul.”

Since the operation to liberate Mosul began Oct. 17, the coalition has destroyed at least 112 watercraft on the Tigris River in Mosul, officials said, with several more damaged or destroyed outside of the city.

Inherent Resolve Strikes Target ISIL in Syria, Iraq

4 Agosto 2016 Americas/Defence di

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Aug. 3, 2016 — 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 Resolve officials reported today.

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

Strikes in Syria

Fighter aircraft conducted five strikes in Syria:

— Near Raqqah, a strike struck an ISIL headquarters.

— Near Manbij, four strikes struck four separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed five ISIL fighting positions.

Strikes in Iraq

Fighter, remotely piloted aircraft and rocket artillery conducted seven strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:

— Near Kisik, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle and an ISIL fighting position.

— Near Mosul, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle and suppressed an ISIL mortar position.

— Near Qayyarah, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun, an ISIL mortar system, two ISIL vehicles and an ISIL assembly area.

— Near Ramadi, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive device, five ISIL vehicles and four ISIL tactical vehicles.

— Near Rawah, a strike destroyed an ISIL fuel tanker.

— Near Tal Afar, a strike struck an ISIL headquarters.

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 they pose to Iraq, Syria, and the wider international community. The destruction of ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the terrorist group’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, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.