On Oct. 23, Coalition military forces conducted 14 strikes against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted four strikes using attack, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted 10 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using attack, bomber, fighter, rotary and remotely piloted aircraft, and rocket artillery against ISIL targets. The following is a summary of the strikes conducted against ISIL since the last press release:

Syria

* Near Ar Raqqah, two strikes engaged two ISIL supply routes and destroyed an oil pump jack.

* Near Manbij, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle.

* Near Palmyra, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle.

Iraq

* Near Ar Rutbah, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed five vehicles.

* Near Bashir, one strike destroyed an ISIL VBIED and a vehicle.

* Near Mosul, six strikes [5-6 British] engaged four ISIL tactical units, two rocket systems, two anti-aircraft artillery systems and two staging areas; destroyed 19 fighting positions, 17 vehicles, 10 heavy machine guns, nine mortar systems, eight command and control nodes, six repeater towers, and four tunnels; and damaged four fighting positions, two vehicles, a mortar system, and a tunnel.

* Near Rawah, one strike destroyed an ISIL bunker.

* Near Sultan Abdallah, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and a staging area, and destroyed three vehicles, an ISIL-held building and a weapons cache.

Sunday 23 October – Typhoons, Tornados and a Reaper destroyed seventeen terrorist targets on the approaches to Mosul, including eight mortar and machine-gun teams…Reaper operations continued on Sunday 23 October, where one of our aircraft conducted a Hellfire attack on a truck loaded with terrorists. A second Hellfire killed other terrorists as they attempted to hide from the aircraft beneath a staircase in a ruined building. The Reaper employed a GBU-12 bomb to destroy a heavy machine-gun that was firing on Iraqi troops, then used a third Hellfire to destroy a well dug-in mortar near Bartallah. North-east of Mosul, a pair of Typhoons used two Paveway IVs to destroy a pair of machine-gun positions, then carried out a simultaneous attack against a total of five Daesh positions – two sniper teams, two mortars and another machine-gun – spread across a couple of miles of the front line. All five targets were struck accurately by Paveway IVs. An eighth Paveway was then used to destroy another mortar team. A second Typhoon flight was also active in the area, working closely with coalition surveillance aircraft, and dropped Paveway IVs against two Daesh strongpoints. Tornados also patrolled north-east of Mosul. The aircraft delivered attacks with an Enhanced Paveway II and two Paveway IVs that destroyed a machine-gun team, a terrorist defensive position and an armed truck.

On Oct. 22, Coalition military forces conducted 15 strikes against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted five strikes using attack, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted 10 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using attack, bomber, fighter, rotary and remotely piloted aircraft, and rocket artillery against ISIL targets. The following is a summary of the strikes conducted against ISIL since the last press release:

Syria

* Near Abu Kamal, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two oil well heads and a vehicle.

* Near Al Shadaddi, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed six fighting positions.

* Near Mar’a, one strike destroyed an ISIL artillery system.

Iraq

* Near Al Qaim, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and a vehicle.

* Near Kisik, one strike damaged an ISIL tunnel.

* Near Mosul, four strikes engaged five ISIL tactical units, 12 staging areas, six mortar systems, a rocket position and a heavy machine gun; destroyed 21 fighting positions, 10 mortar systems, eight vehicles, eight command and control nodes, seven ISIL-held buildings, five bunkers, four anti-aircraft guns, four artillery systems, three tunnels, three VBIEDs, two supply caches, two heavy machine guns, a VBIED facility and a front end loader; and damaged three VBIEDs, two tunnels, a fighting position, a repeater tower and a vehicle.

* Near Rawah, two strikes destroyed two ISIL tunnels and a bunker.

* Near Sultan Abdallah, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed seven vehicles, an ISIL-held building, and a checkpoint, and damaged 16 vehicles.

Saturday 22 October – A Reaper supported Iraqi forces consolidating their liberation of Qaraqosh, south-east of Mosul, attacking five Daesh targets, including an anti-aircraft gun…On Saturday 22 October, a Reaper flew overwatch for the Iraqi troops in and around Qaraqosh as they cleared remaining Daesh positions. The Reaper’s crew used a Hellfire missile against several terrorists engaged in a firefight with the Iraqis. A second Hellfire then destroyed an anti-aircraft gun positioned in the street. A terrorist mortar was reported firing on friendly forces, and the Reaper successfully hunted this down and eliminated the threat with a GBU-12 guided bomb. A van was spotted supplying terrorist positions and was destroyed with a Hellfire, and a fourth missile accounted for another group of extremists caught in the open.

On Oct. 21, Coalition military forces conducted 18 strikes against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted six strikes using attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted 12 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using attack, bomber, fighter, rotary and remotely piloted aircraft, and rocket artillery against ISIL targets. The following is a summary of the strikes conducted against ISIL since the last press release:

Syria

* Near Abu Kamal, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle.

* Near Al Shadaddi, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit.

* Near Ayn Isa, three strikes engaged two ISIL-held buildings and destroyed two fighting positions.

* Near Washiyah, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle.

Iraq

* Near Al Huwayjah, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed three vehicles.

* Near Al Qaim, one strike destroyed an ISIL anti-air artillery system.

* Near Bashir, two strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units and destroyed a weapons cache.

* Near Mosul, five strikes [4 British] engaged an ISIL tactical unit, 14 mortar systems, an artillery system, a rocket system and two staging areas; destroyed 17 fighting positions, 10 vehicles, eight tunnel entrances, six mortar systems, five VBIEDs, three heavy machine guns, two command and control nodes, two artillery systems, two assembly areas, an ISIL-held building, a VBIED facility, a weapons cache, and a training camp; and damaged a fighting position.

* Near Sinjar, one strike engaged an ISIL fighting position.

* Near Sultan Abdallah, two strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units and destroyed three vehicles.

Friday 21 October –Tornados, Typhoons and a Reaper provided close air support to Iraqi and Kurdish forces around Mosul, striking nine terrorist targets including a truck-bomb, tunnels, mortars and a heavy machine-gun…

With Iraqi forces liberating the key towns of Qaraqosh and Bartallah east of Mosul, Royal Air Force aircraft have continued to provide close air support, including to Kurdish forces pressing against Mosul from the north.

A Reaper remotely piloted aircraft patrolled north of Mosul on Friday 21 October, using a Hellfire missile to destroy a Daesh mortar that had opened fire on Kurdish troops. The Reaper then moved south-east to support operations around Qaraqosh, where a coalition aircraft had spotted a fortified tunnel entrance. The Reaper’s crew were able to destroy this with a direct hit from a GBU-12 guided bomb. Meanwhile, Typhoons from RAF Akrotiri, operated to the north and east of the city. Near Khursabad, they worked in close cooperation with a coalition surveillance aircraft to destroy a second tunnel entrance, in which terrorists were known to be hiding. To the north of Mosul, they attacked two mortar teams and a heavy machine-gun, and, near Bartallah, they destroyed an armoured truck-bomb positioned in the path of the advancing Iraqi troops. Further south, in the Tigris valley, a pair of Tornados used a Brimstone missile to destroy an armed truck. They then used a second Brimstone to engage a group of terrorists operating amongst houses south-east of Mosul. No collateral damage was caused.

On Oct. 20, Coalition military forces conducted 20 strikes against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 13 strikes using attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted seven strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using attack, bomber, fighter, remotely piloted aircraft and rocket artillery against ISIL targets. The following is a summary of the strikes conducted against ISIL since the last press release:

Syria

* Near Al Shadaddi, three strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units and destroyed two fighting positions, a mortar system, and a vehicle.

* Near Ar Raqqah, two strikes engaged an ISIL supply route and destroyed an oil well head, an oil collection tank, and an oil pump jack.

* Near Ayn Isa, one strike engaged an ISIL headquarters building.

* Near Manbij, six strikes engaged four ISIL tactical units and destroyed three fighting positions, two vehicles, and a VBIED.

* Near Mar’a, one strike destroyed an artillery system.

Iraq

* Near Mosul, four strikes [4 British] engaged three ISIL tactical units and two staging areas; destroyed an ISIL headquarters building, 23 fighting positions, eight ISIL VBIEDs, six ISIL-held buildings, six vehicles, five mortar systems, three heavy machine guns, a tanker truck, and a command and control node; damaged a VBIED; suppressed nine heavy machine gun positions, five sniper positions, four mortar positions, an artillery system position and 11 ISIL tactical units.

* Near Rawah, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit.

* Near Sultan Abdallah, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a VBIED, a vehicle and an ISIL-held building.

* Near Tal Afar, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two checkpoints.

Thursday 20 October – Tornados killed a group of terrorists engaged in combat with Iraqi troops in the Tigris valley, south of Mosul. Typhoons and a Reaper also continued to support troops to the north and east of the city, attacking eleven targets including a command post, heavy-machine-guns, mortars and rocket-launchers…Reaper support to the south-east of Mosul continued on Thursday 20 October. Hellfire missiles destroyed a truck-mounted heavy machine-gun and another vehicle which had been spotted being loaded with a mortar and ammunition. Two more Daesh mortar teams were destroyed with a further Hellfire and a GBU-12 guided bomb. In the Tigris valley south of Mosul, a Tornado flight intervened in a combat between Iraqi troops and a dispersed group of terrorists. Two Paveway IVs accounted for the extremists. Meanwhile, two flights of Typhoons patrolled the northern arc around Mosul, where they engaged seven terrorist targets with Paveway IVs. These included: a rocket-launcher north-west of the city, a sniper team and a Daesh-held building to the north, and to the north-east a pair of heavy machine-guns, a strongpoint, and a command post which was controlling truck-bomb attacks.