DOD: MORE AIRSTRIKES REPORTED AGAINST ISIL IN SYRIA, IRAQ

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Coalition Continues Airstrikes Against ISIL Targets in Syria, Iraq
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

SOUTHWEST ASIA, March 15, 2015 – U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Officials reported details of the latest strikes, which took place between 8 a.m. yesterday and 8 a.m. today, local time, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Airstrikes in Syria

Fighter and bomber aircraft conducted four airstrikes in Syria:

-- Near Kobani, four airstrikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed nine ISIL fighting positions and an ISIL vehicle
Airstrikes in Iraq

Attack, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted seven airstrikes in Iraq:

-- Near Al Asad, an airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit.
-- Near Al Hawayjah, an airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.
-- Near Al Qaim, an airstrike destroyed an ISIL excavator.
-- Near Fallujah, an airstrike destroyed an ISIL vehicle.
-- Near Ramadi, two airstrikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and an ISIL staging area.
-- Near Tal Afar, an airstrike destroyed an ISIL excavator.

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, the region, 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 conducting airstrikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations conducting airstrikes in Syria include the United States, Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

DRONES OVER IRAQ

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

Armed, Remotely Piloted Aircraft Patrolling Skies Over Iraq

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 27, 2014 – Some of the manned and unmanned aircraft that the United States is flying over Iraq are armed to protect newly arrived American military advisers on the ground, Pentagon press secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said today.

The aircraft are being flown with the Iraqi government’s permission, the admiral said during a regular Pentagon briefing.

“The reason that some of those aircraft are armed is primarily for force protection reasons now that we have introduced into the country some military advisers whose objective will be to operate outside the confines of the embassy."
There are 90 U.S. service members on six teams assessing conditions in and around Baghdad. Another 90 Americans are setting up the joint operations center in Baghdad.

All told, there are around 500 American service members in the country sent by President Barack Obama to help the Iraqi military as it faces advances by Sunni militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant who have overrun much of the country’s northern and western provinces.

The aircraft are flying between 30 and 40 missions a day in and around Baghdad, Kirby said. The information gathered will feed into the team assessments and the information is being shared with Iraqi forces.

The president has made no decisions about the use of kinetic force, Kirby said, “but it would be irresponsible for us not to be planning, preparing and thinking and to be ready in case he should make that decision.”

Obama has however, decided to ask Congress for $500 million for fiscal year 2015 to help train and equip moderate elements of the opposition battling the Assad regime in neighboring Syria, where the civil war is being blamed for sending Sunni extremists across the border and destabilizing Iraq.
“That opposition, mind you, still has to be vetted,” Kirby said.

Defense officials say it’s imperative that such aid does not end up arming extremists. “But that doesn't mean that you stop the effort to try to enable and build the capacity of partners in a very tough part of the world,” Kirby said. “You don’t just turn it off because there’s a risk that … some of it may fall into the wrong hands.”