Late on Sunday [April 5th], GR4s again provided air support to ground forces, this time to Iraqi military units near Ramadi which had come under fire from ISIL. A successful attack was conducted on the building using a Paveway IV.

On April 4, Coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria, using attack and remotely piloted aircraft to conduct three airstrikes. Separately in Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted 12 airstrikes approved by the Iraqi Ministry of Defense, using attack, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL terrorists. All strikes took place between 8 a.m., April 4, and 8 a.m., April 5, local time. The following is a summary of the strikes conducted since the last press release:

Syria

* Near Al Hasakah, two airstrikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed five fighting positions and an ISIL vehicle.

* Near Ar Raqqah, an airstrike destroyed an ISIL armored personnel carrier.

Iraq

” Near Al Qaim, an airstrike destroyed an ISIL vehicle.

* Near Bayji, an airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.

* Near Fallujah, two airstrikes struck 10 IED facilities.

* Near Mosul, five airstrikes [1 Canadian] struck an ISIL tactical unit, an ISIL IED production facility and destroyed two ISIL fighting positions and an ISIL vehicle.

* Near Ramadi, an airstrike destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun and an ISIL vehicle.

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

* Near Tal Afar, an airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun and ISIL fighting position.

On 4 April 2015, while taking part in coalition operations in support of Iraqi security forces, CF-188 Hornets successfully struck an ISIL Improvised Explosives Device (IED) factory west of Mosul by using precision guided munitions.

On April 3, Coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria, using attack and bomber aircraft to conduct six airstrikes. Separately in Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted nine airstrikes approved by the Iraqi Ministry of Defense, using fighter and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL terrorists. All strikes took place between 8 a.m., April 3, and 8 a.m., April 4, local time. The following is a summary of the strikes conducted since the last press release:

Syria

* Near Kobani, five airstrikes struck three ISIL tactical units and destroyed nine ISIL fighting positions, one ISIL vehicle, and one ISIL building.

* Near Hasakah, an airstrike struck one ISIL tactical unit and destroyed three ISIL fighting positions.

Iraq

* Near Bayji, two airstrikes struck two ISIL tactical units and destroyed one ISIL machine gun and an ISIL fighting position.

* Near Tal Afar, an airstrike destroyed one ISIL fighting position.

* Near Al Huwayjah, an airstrike had no effect.

* Near Al Asad, an airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit.

* Near Sinjar, an airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL machine guns and an ISIL rifle.

* Near Mosul, an airstrike [British] struck one large ISIL unit, one ISIL tactical unit and destroyed five ISIL fighting positions, two ISIL machine guns, an ISIL bull dozer, an ISIL vehicle, and an ISIL rifle.

* Near Fallujah, an airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit.

* Near Sinjar, an airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL fighting positions and an ISIL building.

Around midnight on Friday and into Saturday [April 3rd-4th 2015], a further Tornado patrol conducted an intensive series of successful strikes to help disrupt an attempted ISIL attack south-east of Mosul. The first target was a vehicle which was hit by a Brimstone missile. Two more Brimstones and four Paveway IVs were used against an armed pick-up truck and five terrorist positions.

On April 2, Coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria, using attack and bomber aircraft to conduct six airstrikes. Separately in Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted six airstrikes approved by the Iraqi Ministry of Defense, using fighter and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL terrorists. All strikes took place between 8 a.m., April 2, and 8 a.m., April 3, local time. The following is a summary of the strikes conducted since the last press release:

Syria

* Near Al Hasakah, two airstrikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed four ISIL fighting positions and an ISIL excavator.

* Near Kobani, four airstrikes struck three ISIL tactical units and destroyed seven ISIL fighting positions and an ISIL vehicle.

Iraq

* Near Bayji, two airstrikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL armored vehicle and an ISIL fighting position.

* Near Rawah, an airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL excavator.

* Near Sinjar, an airstrike [British] struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun and an ISIL building.

* Near Tal Afar, two airstrikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL excavators and an ISIL fighting position.

Two Tornado GR4s flew an armed reconnaissance patrol on Thursday 2 April. As well as conducting surveillance with the advanced Raptor pod fitted to the aircraft, the GR4s were able to provide support to Kurdish peshmerga near Sinjar, whose advance had brought them into contact with an ISIL heavy machine-gun position in a building. Working in coordination with the ground forces, the GR4s were able to demolish the position with a pair of Paveway IV precision guided bombs.

Le GAN, en relâche à Abu Dhabi du 25 au 31 mars, a repris ses activités aériennes au profit de la coalition le 1er avril.

Les avions français ont réalisé 23 missions depuis le 26 mars. Comme toujours, elles ont permis de cartographier le front et d’alimenter les données permettant aux avions de la coalition de frapper. Elles ont également permis, le 1er avril, de frapper directement des objectifs sur opportunité, en l’occurence des positions de tirs de Daech dans la région de Kirkouk.

En parallèle, les activités d’instruction conduites à Bagdad au profit de l’ICTS se poursuivent. Le détachement de conseil d’état-major termine quant à lui d’identifier, avec la 6ème division irakienne, les domaines dans lesquels porteront les efforts de conseil et d’assistance.

Lancée depuis le 19 septembre 2014, l’opération Chammal mobilise 3 200 militaires. Elle vise, à la demande du gouvernement irakien et en coordination avec les alliées de la France présents dans la région, à assurer un soutien aérien aux forces irakiennes dans la lutte contre le groupe terroriste autoproclamé Daech. Le dispositif complet est actuellement structuré autour de douze avions de chasse de l’armée de l’Air (six Rafale et six Mirage 2000D), d’un avion de contrôle aérien E3F, d’un avion de patrouille maritime Atlantique 2, et du groupe aéronaval et de son groupe aérien embarqué (douze Rafale Marine, neuf Super Etendard modernisés et un Hawkeye).