Sunday 20 March – Tornados destroyed three weapons caches in north-western Iraq…Tornado GR4s were in action again over northern Iraq on Sunday 20 March, when they used Paveways to destroy three weapons caches and supply points several miles south-west of Sinjar.

On March 19, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 16 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using rocket artillery and 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:

Iraq

* Near Al Baghdadi, two strikes destroyed an ISIL vehicle and suppressed two ISIL tactical units.

* Near Habbaniyah, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units, and destroyed two ISIL fighting positions and an ISIL bunker.

* Near Hit, three strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed four ISIL tactical vehicles, an ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), two ISIL rocket rails, and an ISIL vehicle.

* Near Kisik, three strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position, an ISIL supply cache, and three ISIL rocket rails and suppressed an ISIL sniper position.

* Near Mosul, four strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and an ISIL headquarters and destroyed two ISIL assembly areas and suppressed an ISIL mortar position.

* Near Qayyarah, one strike destroyed two ISIL supply caches and an ISIL headquarters.

* Near Sinjar, one strike destroyed an ISIL supply cache and suppressed an ISIL rocket position.

On March 18, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted one strike using fighter aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 25 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using rocket artillery and ground-attack, bomber, and fighter aircraft against ISIL targets. The following is a summary of the strikes conducted against ISIL since the last press release:

Syria

* Near Ayn Isa, one strike destroyed an ISIL rocket position and an ISIL mortar position.

Iraq

* Near Al Baghdadi, four strikes struck two ISIL bed down locations and two ISIL staging areas.

* Near Al Huwayja, one strike destroyed an ISIL anti-air artillery piece.

* Near Fallujah, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units.

* Near Hit, seven strikes struck an ISIL training camp, two ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) factories, an ISIL improvised explosive device (IED) factory and two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL tunnel, an ISIL vehicle, an ISIL supply cache, and an ISIL VBIED.

* Near Kisik, two strikes [1 British] struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL bunker and two ISIL assembly areas.

* Near Mosul, six strikes [1 British] struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL assembly area, an ISIL supply cache, and three ISIL vehicles and damaged an ISIL-used bridge section and suppressed an ISIL fighting position.

* Near Qayyarah, one strike destroyed an ISIL mortar position and an ISIL vehicle.

* Near Sinjar, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle and suppressed an ISIL fighting position.

Additionally, on the March 18 release, two strikes were duplicated in AL Hawl and Mar’a, Syria due to administrative error. The following is a summary of the correct strikes in both Al Hawl and Mar’a from the March 18 release:

Syria

* Near Al Hawl, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL fighting position, and damaged an ISIL fighting position.

* Near Mar’a, four strikes struck four separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed eight ISIL fighting positions, and damaged an ISIL fighting position.

Friday 18 March – Tornados and Typhoons struck three groups of terrorists as they gathered for possible attacks in northern Iraq…On Friday 18 March, Paveway-armed Typhoons struck a group of extremists mustering east of Mosul, while Tornados similarly hit two Daesh groups gathered for possible attacks near Kisik.

On March 17, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted nine strikes using ground-attack, attack, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 11 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using rocket artillery and fighter 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 strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL fighting position, damaged an ISIL fighting position and suppressed a second fighting position.
* Near Ayn Isa, one strike destroyed an ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED).
* Near Mar’a, five strikes struck five separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed eight ISIL fighting positions and damaged an ISIL fighting position.

*also see 18-19th March report for amended number of Syria strikes

Iraq

* Near Albu Hayat, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.
* Near Habbaniyah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.
* Near Hit, two strikes [1 French] struck an ISIL headquarters and a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL tunnel and an ISIL rocket position.
* Near Kisik, three strikes [1 British] destroyed two ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL supply cache, and an ISIL command and control node.
* Near Qayyarah, two strikes [2 British] destroyed an ISIL rocket rail, an ISIL used bridge section, and three ISIL vehicles.
* Sultan Abdallah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL heavy machine gun positions.
* Near Fallujah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.

Thursday 17 March – Tornados and Typhoons conducted multiple attacks on Daesh positions in northern and western Iraq, including attempts by the terrorists to repair a key bridge on a supply route…Thursday 17 March saw Tornados and Typhoons operating over both northern and western Iraq. Typhoons used a Paveway bomb to demolish a building from which a terrorist sniper had opened fire on Iraqi forces near Tall Afar, while a Tornado mission over Anbar worked in cooperation with a coalition remotely piloted aircraft to assist Iraqi troops engaged in combat with Daesh extremists to the north-west of Ramadi. Despite heavy cloud obscuring the target, the RAF and coalition aircraft used their highly sophisticated surveillance and targeting equipment to allow the Tornados to deliver two precision attacks with Brimstone missiles on the terrorists, then, once they attempted to retreat, to strike the remainder of the Daesh group with a Paveway.

Meanwhile, another Tornado flight Near Kisik used a Paveway to destroy a Daesh command and control position, where a number of terrorists had gathered. The Tornados then interrupted Daesh’s efforts to reopen supply routes near Qayyarah, destroying targets with two direct hits from Paveways and then another Paveway and Brimstone missiles were used to destroy three engineering vehicles.

Les armées françaises assurent simultanément la défense du territoire national et la défense de l’avant, à l’extérieur de nos frontières. Ce dispositif mobilise près 13 000 militaires sur le territoire national et environ 7 500 en opérations extérieures (principalement dans la lutte contre le terrorisme au Sahel et au Levant), ainsi que 11 000 au sein des forces prépositionnées.

Proche et Moyen-Orient : Chammal

Au Levant, la situation est marquée par un recul de Daech – en Irak comme en Syrie. Les offensives tentées depuis plusieurs semaines par l’organisation terroriste se sont soldées par des échecs. Daech est contraint d’adopter une posture défensive et tente d’ouvrir de nouveaux fronts par des actions de harcèlement contre les forces locales et des attaques terroristes à fort retentissement médiatique contre les civils.

Situation de Daech en Irak

Dans le Nord, Daech concentre ses efforts autour de Mossoul avec une bascule vraisemblable des forces dans ce secteur. Daech porte ses efforts sur la région de Tal Afar pour tenter de conserver un lien avec la Syrie – notamment depuis la perte de la route transfrontalière entre Ash Shadadi et Sinjar. Cet axe sous le contrôle des forces locales lui était essentiel pour conserver une liberté d’action entre ses deux fiefs de Mossoul et Raqqah.

Les terroristes contrôlent toujours la zone Mossoul / Qayyarah / Hawija.

Au centre, l’axe Baiji / Tikrit / Samarra reste sous le contrôle des forces irakiennes malgré le harcèlement pratiqué par Daech. La suprématie de Daech sur l’axe Baiji / Haditha est aujourd’hui contestée

Dans la vallée de l’Euphrate, depuis la prise de Ramadi par les forces irakiennes, Daech est contenu sur les rives nord du fleuve. Les troupes irakiennes progressent désormais vers Falloujah. Daech est donc sur une position défensive avec un effort pour conserver un axe logistique entre Hit et Falloujah.

Situation de Daech en Syrie

Le constat est quasiment identique, avec un net mouvement de recul de Daech.

Au Nord Est, les forces locales progressent rapidement vers le Sud. Elles se sont emparées d’Ash Shadadi et l’axe Sinjar est quasiment fermé pour Daech.

Actions de la coalition: 700 frappes en appui des forces irakiennes lors des opérations de reprise de Ramadi

En Irak, l’effort de la coalition est porté sur la vallée de l’Euphrate et dans le secteur de Mossoul – principales zones des frappes en appui des troupes locales combattant au sol. Les bombardements planifiés visent à affaiblir Daech en ciblant les centres de commandement et les capacités logistiques. En six mois, la coalition a réalisé près de 700 frappes en appui des forces irakiennes lors des opérations de reprise de Ramadi.

Actions de l’opération Chammal

Actuellement, l’opération compte 1 000 militaires déployés sur les bases aériennes en Jordanie, dans le Golfe arabo-persique (GAP), mais aussi à Bagdad, en Méditerranée Orientale (MEDOR) et dans les états-majors de la coalition.

Actions de formation et de conseil

Déployée à Bagdad, la composante formation et conseil (près de 100 instructeurs français) a achevé ses opérations de relève au début du mois de mars 2016. Les missions de la 3ebrigade légère blindée et de la 13edemi-brigade de Légion étrangère ont été reprises par la 11ebrigade parachutiste. Depuis le mois de mars 2015, les forces françaises ont formé 3 700 des 18 600 militaires irakiens formés par la coalition.

Actuellement, elles conduisent 5 actions de formation au sein de l’Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service (ICTS). Au programme pour les 500 stagiaires irakiens : sauvetage au combat, lutte contre les engins explosifs, combat en zone urbaine et ouverte, instruction au tir de combat, formation des futurs instructeurs. Ces compétences sont indispensables aux forces irakiennes pour poursuivre le combat.

Opérations aériennes : 78 objectifs terroristes frappés en 1 mois

Depuis le 9 mars 2016, les équipages ont réalisé 46 sorties et conduit 8 frappes ayant entrainé la destruction de 13 objectifs terroristes.

Sur ces 46 sorties, 6 ont été dédiées aux vols de renseignement et 40 aux bombardements.

Concernant ces dernières, 2 ont fait l’objet d’attaques planifiées, l’une en Irak et l’autre en Syrie :

• Le 11 mars, une patrouille de 2 Mirage a réalisé une frappe dans la région de Der Eiz Zor où une installation pétrolière utilisée par Daech a été détruite.
• Le 14 mars, une patrouille de 2 Mirage a réalisé une frappe dans la région de Mossoul détruisant un camp d’entrainement de combattants terroristes.

Au bilan depuis le 17 février et jusqu’au 15 mars 2016, la force Chammal a réalisé 36 frappes et détruit 78 objectifs terroristes, notamment dans les régions de Mossoul et de Ramadi.

GAN : fin du déploiement opérationnel

Du 18 novembre 2015 au 16 mars 2016, le GAN a opéré à la fois depuis la Méditerranée orientale (MEDOR) et le Golfe arabo-persique (GAP) avec une activité opérationnelle marquée par sa participation aux campagnes aériennes contre Daech et la prise de commandement par le contre-amiral Crignola de la « composante porte-avions » de la coalition.

100 frappes contre Daech

Les équipages ont effectué près de 530 sorties aériennes – parfois jusqu’à 18 par jour lors des phases d’intensification de la coalition.

Ils ont en particulièrement été engagé dans les raids frappant les terroristes à Ramadi et Mossoul. Avec près de 100 frappes réalisées au cours de sa mission, le GAN a ainsi contribué, aux côtés des chasseurs de l’armée de l’air, à toucher Daech dans la profondeur de son dispositif, endommageant sa logistique et donc sa capacité à soutenir un combat de haute intensité. Plus d’une trentaine de missions ISR ont par ailleurs été réalisées, dont les dossiers de renseignement sont actuellement exploités par la coalition.

Derniers catapultages des SEM en opération

Le mercredi 16 mars 2016, les Super Etendard Modernisés (SEM) ont été catapultés une dernière fois depuis le porte-avions en Méditerranée — marquant ainsi la fin d’un engagement opérationnel de plus de 40 ans. Dans le cadre de l’opération Chammal, les équipages auront effectué 800 heures de vol et frappé 32 objectifs terroristes en Irak et en Syrie.

Chammal – 15 frappes contre Daech en Irak cette semaine, 19 objectifs détruits

État-major des armées | 22 mars 2016

Du 16 au 22 mars 2016, la force Chammal a poursuivi son action offensive contre Daech en réalisant 73 sorties aériennes au-dessus de l’Irak et de la Syrie, dont 65 de bombardement et 8 de recueil de renseignement. Au total 15 frappes ont permis de détruire 19 objectifs de Daech. En détruisant cette semaine deux centres de commandement, la force Chammal a poursuivi son effort visant à affaiblir les capacités de combat de l’organisation terroriste. En parallèle, elle a continué à appuyer les forces irakiennes engagées au sol dans la reconquête de leur territoire. Cette action en appui des troupes au sol (Close Air Support ou CAS) a été particulièrement marquée le 21 mars dans la région de Hit, dans la vallée de l’Euphrate, où les chasseurs français ont frappé à 5 reprises. 13 frappes d’appui au sol ont été réalisées en Irak au cours de la semaine La force Chammal a réalisé des missions d’appui au sol concentrées dans la région de Mossoul et dans la province d’Anbar en appui de la progression des forces de sécurité irakiennes. 2 frappes planifiées ont été menées en Irak Le 17 mars une patrouille de 5 Mirage 2000D et de 2 Rafale a réalisé une frappe dans la région de Hit permettant la destruction d’un centre de commandement. En savoir + Le 22 mars une patrouille de 2 Mirage 2000D a réalisé une frappe dans la région de Mossoul. Cette mission a permis de détruire un centre de commandement.

On March 16, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted two strikes using attack aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 20 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 Al Hawl, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed 10 ISIL fighting positions.

Iraq

* Near Al Baghdadi, one strike destroyed an ISIL weapons cache.

* Near Ar Rutbah, one strike [1 British] struck a large ISIL tactical unit.

* Near Bayji, one strike struck a large ISIL tactical unit.

* Near Fallujah, one strike struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL staging area and an ISIL mortar position.

* Near Hit, four strikes struck two ISIL improvised weapons factories and destroyed an ISIL vehicle, an ISIL improvised explosive device (IED), and an ISIL supply cache.

* Near Kirkuk, one strike [1 British] destroyed an ISIL machine gun position.

* Near Kisik, two strikes destroyed three ISIL bed down locations and four ISIL assembly areas.

* Near Mosul, nine strikes struck seven ISIL propaganda sites and two ISIL manufacturing factories.

Wednesday 16 March – Tornados destroyed another heavy machine-gun team in northern Iraq, whilst a Reaper successfully attacked a terrorist check-point in western Iraq…The Kurdish forces received further air support from the RAF the following day [16 March], when Tornado GR4s, destroyed another heavy machine-gun which had opened fire on the peshmerga some miles to the west of Kirkuk. Further south, in Anbar province, a Reaper remotely piloted aircraft patrolled over Anbar province and identified and attacked a terrorist check-point near Ar Rutbah being used to intimidate and control the local population using a Hellfire missile.

Tuesday 15 March – Typhoons destroyed a Daesh heavy machine-gun position in northern Iraq…On Tuesday 15 March, Typhoon FGR4s provided close air support to Kurdish peshmerga pushing south from Sinjar and eliminated a heavy machine-gun position firing on Kurdish troops, scoring a direct hit on the terrorists with a Paveway IV precision guided bomb.

On March 15, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted two strikes using attack 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 and fighter aircraft against ISIL targets.The following is a summary of the strikes conducted against ISIL since the last press release:

Syria

* Near Al Hawl, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed nine ISIL fighting positions.

Iraq

* Near Al Huwayjah, one strike destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun.

* Near Hit, three strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed two ISIL vehicles, an ISIL assembly area, six ISIL rocket rails, two ISIL weapons caches, an ISIL anti-air artillery piece and an ISIL mortar position and denied ISIL access to terrain.

* Near Kisik, two strikes destroyed four ISIL assembly areas and suppressed an ISIL fighting position.

* Near Sinjar, three strikes [1 British] destroyed three ISIL heavy machine guns and four ISIL fighting positions and suppressed an ISIL heavy machine gun position.

On March 14, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted three strikes using fighter aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 14 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using rocket artillery and 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 AL Hawl, three strikes destroyed seven ISIL fighting positions.

Iraq

* Near AL Huwayjah, one strike suppressed an ISIL mortar position.

* Near Hit, four strikes struck a large ISIL tactical unit and an ISIL improvised weapons factory and destroyed four ISIL fighting positions and suppressed an ISIL rocket position.

* Near Kirkuk, two strikes destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun and an ISIL fighting position and suppressed an ISIL fighting position.

* Near Mosul, four strikes [1 French] struck an ISIL training camp and two ISIL improvised explosive device factories and destroyed four ISIL assembly areas.

* Near Qayyarah, one strike [1 British] destroyed an ISIL mortar position.

* Near Ramadi, two strikes struck two large ISIL tactical units.

Monday 14 March – Tornados and Typhoons supported Kurdish forces in northern Iraq, attacking mortars and terrorist fighting positions…Typhoons and Tornado GR4s also provided support to ground forces in northern Iraq on Monday 14 March. Near Qayyarah, Typhoons used Paveways against two Daesh mortars and a group of terrorists engaged in a firefight with the security forces, whilst near Kisik, Tornados destroyed two Daesh positions, again with Paveway IVs.

Le 14 mars, une patrouille de 2 Mirage 2000D a réalisé une frappe dans la région de Mossoul. Cette mission a permis de détruire un important camp d’entrainement de Daech.

On March 13, coalition military forces continued to attack 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 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 Manbij, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.

* Near Mar’a, three strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL vehicle and two ISIL fighting positions.

Iraq

* Near Fallujah, one strike destroyed an ISIL bunker.

* Near Hit, three strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL vehicle and an ISIL tunnel entrance and denied ISIL access to terrain.

* Near Kirkuk, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL bulldozer.

* Near Kisik, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.

* Near Sinjar, three strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.

* Near Sultan Abdallah, one strike destroyed five ISIL rocket rails.

* Near Tal Afar, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.

Sunday 13 March – Typhoons destroyed the entrance to a tunnel system west of Ramadi…On Sunday 13 March, Typhoon FGR4s, based at RAF Akrotiri and supported by a Voyager air refuelling tanker, provided support to Iraqi troops operating to the west of Ramadi. The Typhoons used a pair of Paveway IV guided bombs to demolish the entrance to a tunnel system which was reported to be surrounded by IEDs.

In het Midden-Oosten voerden Nederlandse F-16’s boven Irak en Oost-Syrië ongeveer 10 missies uit. Allen betroffen Close Air Support-missies. Door actieve Irakese grondtroepen was er meer zichtbare ISIS-beweging, waardoor de Nederlandse F-16’s de militaire middelen van terreurorganisatie ISIS effectief kon bestrijden met precisiewapens.