On Feb. 18, 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 13 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 Abu Kamal, one strike [1 British] destroyed an ISIL workover rig.

* Near Al Hasakah, four strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed five ISIL vehicles and two ISIL fighting positions.

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

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

* Near Manbij, two strikes struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.

Iraq

* Near Al Baghdadi, one strike destroyed eight ISIL rocket rails.

* Near Albu Hayat, one strike destroyed 13 ISIL rocket rails.

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

* Near Mosul, four strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and an ISIL weapons storage facility and destroyed 12 ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL excavator, and an ISIL vehicle.

* Near Ramadi, four strikes [1 British] struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed four ISIL staging areas.

* Near Sinjar, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and suppressed an ISIL rocket position.

RAF Tornado GR4s and a Reaper remotely piloted aircraft conducted counter-Daesh missions over Syria on Thursday 18 February. North of Abu Kamal, a Tornado patrol used a pair of Brimstone missiles to strike a large engineering vehicle being used for wellhead repair and maintenance in a Daesh-controlled oilfield.

Meanwhile, north-west of Raqqa, a Reaper worked closely with coalition jets to prosecute a group of Daesh extremists who were attacking members of the moderate Syrian armed opposition. The Reaper provided targeting and surveillance support to three successful coalition air attacks, then conducted a fourth attack using its own Hellfire missile.

Over Iraq, other Tornados continued to support Iraqi army operations around Ramadi, in the course of which they used Paveway IVs to bomb three Daesh-held buildings.

On Wednesday 17 February, a Tornado mission interrupted a Daesh team preparing to fire nine artillery rockets, hitting them with Paveway to impact the middle of the line of launch rails.

Proche et Moyen-Orient : Chammal

Situation tactique sur le théâtre Irak-Syrie

En Irak, malgré des actions de harcèlement conduites contre les Forces de sécurité irakiennes (FSI), Daech est contraint d’adopter une posture défensive et ne parvient pas à reprendre l’initiative.

Les forces irakiennes ont poursuivi leurs efforts de reconquête dans la vallée de l’Euphrate. Elles progressent en direction de la ville d’Haditah et elles ont commencé à encercler la ville de Falloujah.

Dans la vallée du Tigre, appuyé par les opérations aériennes de la Coalition, le dispositif FSI a permis de repousser les actions de harcèlement de Daech en particulier dans la région de Baïji et de Tikrit.

Rôle de la France : un double engagement dans la Coalition

Cette semaine, les soldats de l’opération Chammal ont maintenu leur niveau d’engagement dans les deux piliers de l’opération : activités aériennes et actions de formation des forces irakiennes. Bien qu’engageant un volume d’hommes inégaux, l’importance de chacun de ces volets est équivalente pour le succès de la stratégie au Levant.

La participation française au volet formation s’appuie sur deux groupes déployés dans la région de Bagdad : La TF Monsabert qui participe au programme de la coalition « advise and assist » et la TF Narvik qui participe à la formation des commandos irakiens de l’ICTS.

Chammal : 500 jours de déploiement opérationnel pour la Base aérienne projetée (BAP) en Jordanie

Le 6 octobre 2014, les Mirage 2000 de la BAP réalisaient leurs premiers vols de renseignement en Irak au profit de la coalition. Depuis, les chasseurs sont engagés de façon permanente contre Daech.

Le mercredi 17 février 2016, la BAP a dépassé les 500 jours d’engagement opérationnel. Durant cette période, les équipages déployés en Jordanie ont réalisé 1 600 sorties aériennes, 4 000 ravitaillements en vol et ils cumulent plus de 6 600 heures de vol.

Le dispositif aérien de l’opération Chammal évolue : la BAP va ainsi être renforcée d’ici la fin de la semaine par deux Mirage 2000 D en provenance de Niamey.

Bilan hebdomadaire des frappes

Depuis le 10 février 2016, 77 sorties ont été effectuées dont 10 sorties dédiées aux missions de reconnaissance, 4 aux missions de contrôle et de coordination des missions aériennes de la coalition (command and control), 7 au ravitaillement au profit des avions de la coalition et 56 aux missions de bombardement sur des objectifs planifiés ou d’opportunité.

Les différentes frappes conduites par les aéronefs français ont permis de détruire 17 objectifs tenus par Daech. Le 15 février, intégrée dans un raid de la coalition, une patrouille de Mirage 2000D a détruit un centre de stockage et de production d’engins explosifs improvisés tenu par Daech dans la région d’Al QA’IM.

Bilan de la composante aérienne de Chammal : 199 objectifs détruits en 2016

Depuis le 1er janvier 2016, les équipages de la force Chammal ont réalisé 531 sorties aériennes. Au total, ils ont mené 128 frappes et détruit 199 objectifs tenus par l’organisation terroriste au Levant. En Syrie, les chasseurs français ont frappé à cinq reprises détruisant 20 objectifs.

On Feb. 17, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted seven strikes using attack, 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 fighter, 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 building.

* Near Al Hawl, three strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed two ISIL vehicles, an ISIL mortar position, three ISIL buildings, and an ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED).

Iraq

* Near Albu Hayat, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed nine ISIL rocket rails.

* Near Fallujah, one strike destroyed an inoperable piece of partner nation equipment, at the request of the Iraqi government, in order to prevent its capture by ISIL forces.

* Near Makhmur, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL assembly area.

* Near Mosul, one strike produced inconclusive results.

* Near Qayyarah, one strike destroyed an ISIL VBIED.

* Near Ramadi, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed three ISIL fighting positions and an ISIL recoilless rifle.

* Near Sinjar, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL fighting positions and an ISIL light machine gun.

* Near Sultan Abdallah, two strikes destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun and an ISIL vehicle and suppressed an ISIL mortar position.

On Feb. 16, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted eight strikes using attack, ground-attack, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 13 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using 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, four strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed two ISIL vehicles, four ISIL buildings, and an ISIL fighting position.

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

* Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes cratered an ISIL-used road.

Iraq

* Near Albu Hayat, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun and an ISIL mortar system.

* Near Mosul, four strikes [1 British] struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL fighting position and an ISIL supply cache and suppressed an ISIL mortar position.

* Near Ramadi, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL bed down locations, an ISIL command and control node, two ISIL-used bridges, and an ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) facility.

* Near Sinjar, three strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed two ISIL fighting positions and an ISIL heavy machine gun.

* Near Sultan Abdallah, two strikes destroyed five ISIL fighting positions and an ISIL heavy machine gun.

* Near Tal Afar, one strike destroyed an ISIL tunnel.

The following day [Tuesday 16 February], Tornados patrolled over northern Iraq and came to the assistance of advancing Kurdish forces who were under fire from Daesh heavy machine-gun and mortar teams south-east of Mosul. Paveway attacks successfully dealt with the threat.