On Feb. 23, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 14 strikes using ground-attack, attack, and fighter aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted four strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using fighter aircraft against ISIL targets.The following is a summary of the strikes conducted against ISIL since the last press release:

Syria

* Near Al Hasakah, three strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed three ISIL buildings, an ISIL mortar system, an ISIL fighting position, and suppressed a separate ISIL mortar system.

* Near Al Hawl, seven strikes destroyed three ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL building, two ISIL heavy machine guns, two ISIL vehicles, and suppressed an ISIL mortar system and an ISIL heavy machine gun and cratered two ISIL-used roads.

* Near Ayn Isa, one strike suppressed an ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) and an ISIL anti-air artillery piece.

* Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes struck an ISIL gas and oil separation plant and denied ISIL access to terrain.

* Near Manbij, one strike destroyed an ISIL fighting position.

Iraq

* Near Qayyarah, one strike destroyed an ISIL excavator.

* Near Ramadi, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.

* Near Sinjar, one strike destroyed two ISIL weapons caches and five ISIL assembly areas.

* Near Sultan Abdallah, one strike destroyed seven ISIL fighting positions.

On Feb. 22, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 11 strikes using ground-attack, attack, and fighter aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 15 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using fighter aircraft against ISIL targets. The following is a summary of the strikes conducted against ISIL since the last press release:

Syria

* Near Al Hasakah, five strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed six ISIL buildings and suppressed two ISIL sniper positions and two ISIL fighting positions and damaged an ISIL building.

* Near Dayr Az Zawr, five strikes struck six ISIL gas and oil separation plant wellheads.

* Near Manbij, one strike destroyed two ISIL buildings.

Iraq

* Near Al Baghdadi, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL supply cache and an ISIL staging area.

* Near Kisik, seven strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit, three ISIL staging areas, an ISIL headquarters, an ISIL bed down location, and suppressed an ISIL rocket position.

* Near Makhmur, one strike destroyed an ISIL assembly area.

* Near Mosul, two strikes [1 British] struck an ISIL tactical unit and suppressed an ISIL mortar position.

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

* Near Sinjar, one strike suppressed an ISIL light machine gun position.

* Near Tal Afar, one strike suppressed an ISIL light machine gun position.

A Typhoon flight patrolled east of Mosul on Monday 22 February, and was able to identify a Daesh team that was planting improvised explosive devices, they hit with a Paveway.

De Koerdische strijders [later changed to Iraakse special forces] hebben er sinds afgelopen week 28 scherpschutters bij. Nederlandse militairen leidden hen samen met collega’s van coalitielanden op in Irak. Zo kunnen de Peshmerga terreurorganisatie ISIS op de grond bestrijden. Een overzicht van Defensieoperaties in de week van 15 tot 22 februari 2016.
In Bagdad zijn de Nederlanders niet alleen betrokken bij de opleiding tot scherpschutter, maar ook bij die tot commando. Elders in Irak startte een train the trainer course, waarbij Iraakse militairen leren om zelf collega’s trainen.

Midden-Oosten

Nederlandse F-16’s voerden ongeveer 10 missies uit boven Irak en Oost-Syrië. Daarbij zetten zij wapens in tegen gevechtsposities, militaire middelen en strategische doelen van ISIS.
Het commando over de Air Task Force Middle East is in handen van een nieuwe detachementscommandant. De 6e lichting is sinds januari 2016 actief in de strijd tegen terreurorganisatie ISIS. Nederlandse jachtvliegers vliegen sinds 5 oktober 2014.

On Feb. 21, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 14 strikes using attack, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted five strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using fighter aircraft against ISIL targets. The following is a summary of the strikes conducted against ISIL since the last press release:

Syria

* Near Al Hasakah, seven strikes struck five separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL fighting position, four ISIL buildings, four ISIL vehicles, and suppressed an ISIL tactical unit and an ISIL heavy machine gun.

* Near Al Hawl, two strikes destroyed two ISIL-used bridges.

* Near Ayn Isa, two strikes destroyed three ISIL buildings and two ISIL fighting positions and suppressed an ISIL fighting position.

* Near Dayr Az Zawr, three strikes struck three ISIL-used logistics routes.

Iraq

* Near Fallujah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and suppressed an ISIL fighting position.

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

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

* Near Sinjar, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and suppressed an ISIL heavy machine gun position.

On Feb. 20, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 18 strikes using attack, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 20 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using rocket artillery and 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 Hasakah, nine strikes struck eight separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL fighting position, six ISIL buildings, and an ISIL vehicle.

* Near Al Hawl, five strikes struck five separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL vehicle and two ISIL structures.

* Near Ar Raqqah, one strike [1 British] destroyed an ISIL vehicle.

* Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes destroyed an ISIL culvert bridge and two ISIL-used logistics routes.

* Near Manbij, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.

Iraq

* Near Al Baghdadi, three strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed four ISIL supply caches, an ISIL mortar system, 16 ISIL rocket rails, an ISIL weapons cache, and an ISIL vehicle.

* Near Habbaniyah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position.

* Near Hit, two strikes struck an ISIL weapons production facility and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.

* Near Mosul, 10 strikes [1 French] struck an ISIL tactical unit, an ISIL logistical facility, an ISIL fuel storage location, an ISIL mortar booster factory, an ISIL explosive factory, and an ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) factory and destroyed nine ISIL assembly areas, an ISIL fighting position, two ISIL command and control nodes, and suppressed an ISIL mortar position and an ISIL heavy machine gun position.

* Near Qayyarah, two strikes destroyed an ISIL vehicle and destroyed an ISIL assembly area.

* Near Ramadi, one strike [1 British] destroyed an ISIL vehicle and destroyed two ISIL fighting positions.

* Near Sinjar, one strike destroyed two ISIL fighting positions and suppressed an ISIL rocket position.

The following day [Saturday 20 February] saw RAF Reapers in action over both Syria and Iraq again. North-west of Raqqa, a Reaper tracked a Daesh machine-gun team that had been firing on Syrian opposition fighters. The terrorists retreated to a small building, where they were joined by other extremists. The Reaper then successfully attacked the group with a Hellfire missile. In Iraq, again north-east of Ramadi, another Reaper worked closely with another coalition remotely piloted aircraft to provide close air support to the Iraqi ground forces. The Reaper assisted its coalition partner in an attack, then conducted two attacks with its own Hellfires on two Daesh groups engaged in close combat with the Iraqi troops.

On Feb. 19, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted nine strikes using attack, ground-attack, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 16 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using fighter, attack, ground-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 Hasakah, four strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL fighting position.

* Near Ayn Isa, one strike destroyed an ISIL armored front end loader.

* Near Dayr Az Zawr, one strike struck an ISIL main gas and oil separation plant.

* Near Manbij, three strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL anti-air artillery piece and three ISIL fighting positions.

Iraq

* Near Al Baghdadi, one strike destroyed an ISIL weapons cache and three ISIL rocket systems.

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

* Near Albu Hayat, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.

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

* Near Habbaniyah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position.

* Near Hit, one strike destroyed an ISIL tunnel entrance.

* Near Mosul, four strikes [1 British] struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed four ISIL fighting positions, four ISIL assembly areas, an ISIL petroleum, oil, and lubricants site, and two ISIL command and control nodes.

* Near Qayyarah, one strike destroyed four ISIL fighting positions.

* Near Ramadi, three strikes [2 British] struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL anti-air artillery piece, an ISIL vehicle, an ISIL fighting position, an ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) facility, five ISIL staging areas, and an ISIL bed down location.

* Near Tal Afar, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL tunnel system.

On Friday 19 February, Typhoon FGR4s and Tornados patrolled over western Iraq. North-east of Ramadi, an Iraqi helicopter reported coming under fire from an anti-aircraft gun concealed beneath a carport. A Paveway IV delivered by a Typhoon removed the threat. The Typhoons then dropped two Paveways on a large building where a group of terrorists, armed with rocket-propelled grenades, were holding out against the advancing Iraqi troops.

North-east of Al Asad airbase, a coalition surveillance aircraft identified a set of five rocket launchers and an ammunition stockpile set up in a palm grove, and was able to guide in a Tornado flight which destroyed both targets with Paveways, then used a third Paveway to eliminate a group of terrorists caught in the open. Later in the day, a second Tornado patrol used Paveways to destroy four Daesh-held buildings north-east of Ramadi, including two used to prepare truck-bombs. In northern Iraq, a Typhoon mission operated north-east of Mosul, supporting the Kurdish peshmerga, and destroyed two buildings from which the terrorists had been fighting.

Over Syria, a Reaper and other coalition aircraft supported moderate Syrian opposition forces north-west of Raqqa; our Reaper assisted in one coalition air strike, then used a Hellfire to destroy an Daesh improvised armoured vehicle.