On Oct. 10, coalition military forces conducted 17 strikes against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted eight strikes using attack, bomber, and fighter aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted nine strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using attack, fighter, 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 Abu Kamal, one strike damaged a supply route.

* Near Al Hawl, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a fighting position.

* Near Dayr Az Zawr, three strikes destroyed three ISIL oil well heads and an oil tanker truck and damaged two supply routes.

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

Iraq

* Near Bayji, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed three fighting positions, two weapons caches, two bunkers, and a tunnel entrance.

* Near Haditha, one strike destroyed three ISIL vehicles.

* Near Kisik, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit; destroyed an ISIL-held building, a fighting position, a heavy machine gun, and three tunnels; damaged a trench and another tunnel; and suppressed a second tactical unit.

* Near Mosul, four strikes [2-3 British] engaged an ISIL tactical unit, a staging area, six headquarters buildings, two media centers, a VBIED facility, and a weapons facility and destroyed two ISIL-held buildings, a command and control node, an anti-air artillery system, and a weapons cache.

* Near Sinjar, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed five fighting positions.

Monday 10 October – Around Mosul, Typhoons struck a tunnel complex to the south-east and a mortar team to the north-west. Tornados also destroyed an anti-tank missile position and weapons cache to the north-east…

Welcoming the start of operations to liberate Mosul, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said:

“Daesh are on the back foot. The beginning of the encirclement of Mosul today is a big moment in our efforts to rid Iraq of Daesh. Mosul is a large and complex city and operations there will be tough but with Coalition support Iraqi forces will prevail.”

“Alongside our Coalition partners, the UK will continue to play a leading role in the air and on the ground, including through our strike missions, specialised surveillance, humanitarian support and the mentoring and training of Iraqi forces.”

Coalition aircraft have been providing intensive air support to Iraqi ground forces as they work to isolate Daesh terrorists holding Mosul. The Royal Air Force has been heavily committed to this operation, with Tornado, Typhoon and Reaper aircraft providing close air support, and Airseeker and Sentinel strategic surveillance aircraft gathering intelligence. On the ground British military instructors are, with coalition colleagues, helping train, mentor and equip many of the forces engaged in the Mosul operation.

A pair of Typhoons from RAF Akrotiri used two Paveway IV guided bombs on Monday 10 October to destroy the entrances to tunnels beneath an embankment near Qaraqosh. They then flew to the north-west of Mosul where they used another Paveway to silence a mortar team on the northern bank of the Tigris, which had been firing on the advancing Kurdish forces. To the north-east of the city, two Tornados used an Enhanced Paveway II to destroy a terrorist anti-tank missile position. They then followed up with a Paveway IV to ensure the destruction of an associated ammunition supply point.

On Oct. 9, coalition military forces conducted 16 strikes against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted eight strikes using attack, bomber, and fighter aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted eight strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using attack, fighter, 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 damaged two supply routes.

* Near Al Shadaddi, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed three fighting position and a vehicle.

* Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes damaged four ISIL supply routes.

* Near Mar’a, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle and a fighting position.

* Near Palmyra, one strike destroyed an ISIL headquarters facility.

Iraq

* Near Mosul, four strikes [2 British] engaged an ISIL tactical unit and a staging area; destroyed a training camp, a mortar cache, a logistical node, a sniper position, a supply cache, and a tunnel; and damaged another tunnel.

* Near Sinjar, three strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units and destroyed three fighting positions, two vehicles, a mortar system, and a logistical node.

* Near Sultan Abdallah, one strike destroyed an ISIL mortar system.

Sunday 9 October – Tornados hit two targets in the Tigris valley, while Typhoons and a Reaper worked together against Daesh positions north of Mosul…Tornados continued their work over the Tigris on Sunday 9 October, when they destroyed a mortar team and a nearby ammunition stockpile near Qayyarah, with a pair of Paveway IVs. North of Mosul, a Reaper worked alongside two Typhoons. The Reaper provided surveillance support to a highly effective artillery bombardment that destroyed a Daesh training camp. It then tracked two terrorists as they moved to a rocket launching position, where they were seen working under the cover of some trees. A Hellfire missile killed the terrorists and the Typhoons then followed up with a Paveway IV attack to destroy the rockets.

Danskere styrer luftrummet over Irak

Det danske radarbidrag fortsætter kampen mod ISIL. Flyvevåbnets bidrag til Irak og De Forenede Emirater er fra politisk side netop blevet forlænget med 12 måneder.

Af Air Control Wing

Mandag blev det fra politisk side besluttet at forlænge det danske radarbidrag til Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR). Siden januar 2016 har Flyvevåbnets udsendte fra Air Control Wing overvåget og kontrolleret luftrummet over Irak, så koalitionens missioner bliver gennemført så effektivt og forsvarligt som muligt.

Bidraget består af ca. 30 mand. Omkring ti teknikere, der sørger for driften af radaren, der er udstationeret på Al Asad Air Base i Irak, og omkring 20 operatører der sidder i luftoperationscentret på Al Dhafra Air Base i De Forenede Arabiske Emirater.

Air Control Wing leverer med radaren på Al Asad det primære og mest driftssikre radarbillede over det sydlige Irak til brug for hele OIR. Den danske radar har den højeste oppetid, det vil sige den tid, hvor radaren sender billeder af luftrummet videre, sammenlignet med resten af radarene i OIR.

De danske radaroperatørers opgave er, at koordinere koalitionens luftoperationer og sørge for deres flyvesikkerhed. Det er soldaterne fra Air Control Wing, der blandet andet udpeger flyenes ruter i luften over Irak, holder dem adskilt fra andre fly i luften for at undgå kollisioner, styrer flyene til og fra tankfly og sørger for at rydde de luftområder, hvor kampfly skal til at bruge våben.

Siden radarbidragets start har operatørerne udført tæt på 20.000 missioner, hvor de har sørget for at få flyene sikkert gennem luftrummet. Samtidig står danskerne også for luftkontrol til 80 % af lufttankningen i det sydlige Irak. En meget vigtigt opgave, når mange af flyene flyver, hvad der svarer til en distance fra København til Rom, bare for at nå ind til missionsområdet. Uden lufttankningen ville flyene ikke have nok brændstof til at kunne gennemføre missionerne.

Samlet set udfører bidraget en opgave, som ingen andre i området kan udføre, og uden et opdateret radarbillede ville OIR-missionerne, herunder de danske F16-missioner, ikke kunne afvikles i samme antal og tempo. Derfor er Air Control Wing’s bidrag på Al Asad og i De Forenede Emirater et særdeles eftertragtet og respekteret bidrag blandt amerikanerne, som der arbejdes tættest med, og de andre koalitionspartnere.

FAKTA:

Radaren har en rækkevidde på over 400 km, og er den mest driftssikre, der er indsat i kampen mod ISIL i Operation Inherent Resolve.

Bidraget har været udsendt siden januar 2016 og består af ca. 30 mand og en langtrækkende mobil radar fra Flyvevåbnets Air Control Wing.

Radaren og omkring 10 teknikere er udstationeret på Al Asad Air Base i Irak, resten af bidraget er udstationeret i luftoperationscentret på Al Dhafra Air Base i De Forenede Arabiske Emirater.

On Oct. 8, coalition military forces conducted 26 strikes against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 13 strikes using attack, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft and rocket artillery against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 13 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using attack, fighter, 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 damaged three supply routes.
* Near Al Hawl, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a fighting position.
* Near Al Shadaddi, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a fighting position and a vehicle.
* Near Ar Raqqah, one strike destroyed an ISIL oil well head and two oil pump jacks.
* Near Ayn Isa, three strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units and destroyed two fighting positions, a mortar system, and a vehicle.
* Near Dayr Az Zawr, one strike damaged three ISIL supply routes.
* Near Mar’a, five strikes engaged five ISIL tactical units and destroyed three fighting positions and three vehicles.

Iraq

* Near Hit, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit; destroyed six ISIL-held buildings, two vehicles, and a fighting position; and damaged four ISIL-held buildings.
* Near Mosul, seven strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units, a staging area, and 10 T-wall retainers and destroyed three tunnels, two bunkers, a command and control node, a VBIED facility, a mortar position, and an ISIL-held building.
* Near Qayyarah, two strikes destroyed ten ISIL rocket rails, five rocket systems, and a vehicle.
* Near Sultan Abdallah, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL-held building, a vehicle, a command and control node, and a checkpoint.

On Oct. 7, coalition military forces conducted 24 strikes against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 13 strikes using attack, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft and rocket artillery against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 11 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using attack, fighter, 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 Abu Kamal, three strikes destroyed an ISIL oil well head, an oil storage tank, and an oil pump jack and damaged five supply routes.

* Near Al Shadaddi, four strikes engaged four ISIL tactical units and destroyed two fighting positions, two ISIL-held buildings, and a vehicle.

* Near Ar Raqqah, three strikes destroyed four ISIL oil pump jacks and two oil well heads.

* Near Mar’a, one strike damaged an ISIL VBIED facility.

* Near Washiyah, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL-held building and a command and control node.

Iraq

* Near Hit, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed five vehicles and a weapons cache.

* Near Kisik, two strikes destroyed two ISIL tunnel entrances, a bunker, and a mortar system and suppressed a mortar firing position.

* Near Mosul, five strikes engaged five ISIL tactical units and destroyed four ISIL-held buildings and two vehicles.

* Near Qayyarah, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit; destroyed a mortar system and a watercraft; and suppressed a mortar firing position.

* Near Ramadi, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL-held building, a tunnel, and a vehicle.

Friday 7 October – Tornados struck terrorist positions in the Tigris valley south of Mosul, while Typhoons destroyed two trucks in the desert in western Iraq…On Friday 7 October, Typhoons patrolled over western Iraq, where they used Paveway IVs to destroy two trucks carrying Daesh extremists as they drove along a desert track. In the Tigris valley south of Mosul, two Tornado flights supported Iraqi troops near Al Hawd and Sharqat. A Brimstone missile attack from one Tornado pair eliminated a mortar position, while the second pair used two Paveway IVs and a Brimstone in three attacks which accounted for a large, dispersed group of terrorists on the river bank.

Thursday 6 October – Typhoons attacked a Daesh command post in eastern Syria, while around Mosul, Tornados and a Reaper attacked three terrorist targets…With Iraqi operations to isolate Mosul continuing, Royal Air Force aircraft continued to provide close air support on Thursday 6 October. To the north and west of the city, a Reaper successfully engaged with Hellfire missiles both a mortar team and a group of terrorists caught in the open. The same day, a Tornado mission used an Enhanced Paveway II guided bomb against the entrance to a Daesh tunnel network. In eastern Syria, Typhoons used a Paveway IV guided bomb in a successful attack on a Daesh command post.