The following day [August 29th 2015], again in northern Iraq, another RAF Reaper observed ISIL extremists forcing civilian occupants to flee from a village. Our aircraft observed groups of armed terrorists making their way to a building in the middle of the village; a Hellfire missile destroyed the building.

Alors que l’opération Chammal entre dans son douzième mois, 32 sorties ont été réalisées par les avions de la force Chammal ces deux dernières semaines. Cinq missions ISR de renseignement dans la profondeur ont permis la réalisation de 23 missions de reconnaissance armée et 4 missions de frappes planifiées.

Ces missions ont abouti, avec 16 frappes, à la neutralisation de 23 objectifs dont plusieurs caches d’armes et bâtiments que le groupe terroriste utilisait comme dépôts logistiques, de commandement et contrôle ou fabriques d’engins explosifs improvisés. Approchant les 1100 missions, les avions français ont réalisé leur deux-centième frappe, tandis que l’Atlantique2 opérait une nouvelle capacité de mission en procédant à un tir dans le cadre d’une mission planifiée.

En Irak, dans le secteur de Bagdad, le détachement conseil et assistance continue sa formation au profit des officiers de l’état-major de la 6th Infantry Division et a participé à la mise en place et au suivi de stages de secourisme au combat et de lutte contre les engins explosifs improvisés. Le Détachement d’instruction opérationnel (DIO) 13 poursuit le stage de 8 semaines en techniques commando auprès des militaires de l’ICTS, l’Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service commencé fin juillet 2015.

On Aug. 27, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted seven airstrikes using bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft. Separately in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 13 airstrikes coordinated with the government of Iraq using attack, bomber, fighter, fighter-attack and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets.

The following is a summary of the strikes conducted against ISIL since the last press release:

Syria

• Near Aleppo, one airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit.

• Near Ar Raqqah, one airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit and an ISIL checkpoint.

• Near Al Hasakah, one airstrike struck an ISIL ant-aircraft artillery piece.

• Near Kobani, one airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit.

• Near Washiyah, three airstrikes struck one large and two small ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.

Iraq

• Near Bayji, two airstrikes destroyed three ISIL fighting positions, two ISIL vehicles and an ISIL IED.

• Near Habbaniyah, one airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL light machine gun and an ISIL building.

• Near Haditha, one airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL building and an ISIL motorcycle.

• Near Kirkuk, one airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position and an ISIL heavy machine gun.

• Near Kisik, two airstrikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL excavator and an ISIL fighting position.

• Near Mosul, two airstrikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and an ISIL mortar firing position and destroyed an ISIL checkpoint.

• Near Ramadi, one airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit.

• Near Sinjar, two airstrikes struck two ISIL tactical units and destroyed three ISIL fighting positions and two ISIL light machine guns.

• Near Tuz, one airstrike destroyed an ISIL VBIED.

Peshmerga forces with the support of Coalition airstrikes, are conducting a successful offensive operation against Daesh terrorists near Tuz in Northern Iraq. Since Aug. 26, the Peshmerga have destroyed Daesh defensive positions and re-established control of more than 200 square kilometers, liberating seven villages, and straightening and shortening the Kurdish forward line of troops.

“The Peshmerga troops are conducting a significant operation east of Tuz in northern Iraq,” Brig. Gen. Kevin Killea chief of staff, CJTF-OIR. “In a short period of time the Peshmerga have physically cleared and secured a large amount of terrain, supported by Coalition air strikes.”

Coalition forces carried out 13 deliberate and 12 dynamic strikes over a three-day period in support of the Peshmerga operation. CJTF-OIR will continue to target and destroy ISIL fighting positions, infrastructure and equipment in support of the Peshmerga as they clear ISIL fighters from Iraqi villages and countryside.

Video footage of airstrikes in support of this operation, which is part of a broader effort by the Coalition to degrade and ultimately defeat Daesh terrorists in Iraq and Syria, is available at https://youtu.be/cSNPupGz_T8

On Thursday 27 August, an RAF Reaper flew an armed reconnaissance mission over northern Iraq, where offensives by the Kurdish peshmerga have forced the ISIL terrorists onto the defensive. The Reaper spotted a pick-up truck and a Hellfire missile scored a direct hit and a very large secondary blast confirmed that it had been loaded with explosives for use as a suicide truck-bomb.

On Aug. 26, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted four airstrikes using bomber and remotely piloted aircraft. Separately in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 21 airstrikes coordinated with the government of Iraq using attack, bomber, fighter, fighter-attack and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets.

The following is a summary of the strikes conducted against ISIL since the last press release:

Syria

• Near Al Hawl, three airstrikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL bunker complex, three ISIL bunkers and an ISIL excavator.

• Near Kobani, one airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position.

Iraq

• Near Bayji, five airstrikes struck an ISIL large tactical unit, three ISIL small tactical units and denied ISIL an avenue of approach and destroyed 19 ISIL buildings, two ISIL vehicles, an ISIL mortar system and an ISIL weapons cache.

• Near Fallujah, one airstrike destroyed an ISIL mortar tube and an ISIL vehicle.

• Near Kisik, two airstrikes struck two ISIL tactical units and destroyed three ISIL fighting positions.

• Near Mosul, two airstrikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL checkpoints and an ISIL vehicle.

• Near Ramadi, two airstrikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL buildings, two ISIL weapons caches and an ISIL vehicle.

• Near Sinjar, two airstrikes struck two ISIL small tactical units and destroyed an ISIL light machine gun and three ISIL fighting positions.

• Near Sultan Abdallah, one airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position.

• Near Tuz, six airstrikes struck an ISIL large tactical unit, two ISIL small tactical units and three ISIL staging areas and destroyed four ISIL fighting positions and an ISIL vehicle.

The Reapers were particularly active on Wednesday 26 August supporting the Kurdish peshmerga, and conducted a total of five successful strikes on terrorist groups attempting to manoeuvre on foot and in vehicles in the open desert.

Forsvarschef: F-16-bidraget skal have en pause
Forsvarschef, general Peter Bartram, mener, at det danske F-16-bidrag, som er indsat i kampen mod ISIL i Irak, skal have en pause og bør trækkes hjem.
Forsvarschefen er lige nu sammen med forsvarsminister Carl Holst på besøg hos det danske kampflysbidrag på Al-Jaber-base i Kuwait. Og under besøget løftede forsvarschefen sløret for sin militære anbefaling til regeringen angående F-16-bidraget.
– Jeg har i min militære anbefaling til regeringen sagt, at F-16-bidraget bør trækkes hjem, når mandatet udløber 1. oktober, siger forsvarschef, general Peter Bartram, og fortsætter:
– Vi har løst en stor og vigtig opgave, men jeg må også erkende, at støttestrukturen derhjemme er presset. Vi trænger til at få en pause, så vi kan blive klar igen. Der er også et behov for at tage højde for flyenes restlevetid, så de kan anvendes indtil de nye kampfly kan overtage.
Forsvarets støttestruktur er baseret på, at F-16-flyene er udsendt i en periode for derefter at komme hjemme igen og genopbygge.
– Det er klart, der er en masse faktorer, der spiller ind for, hvornår vi kan blive klar igen. Når Forsvarsministeren på et tidspunkt igen beder mig om en militær anbefaling, så vil vi i den konkrete situation analysere de mange variabler og fremlægge en anbefaling med beskrivelse af eventuelle konsekvenser. Og beder regeringen os om at genindsætte flyene, gør vi naturligvis det, siger forsvarschefen.