On Dec. 18, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted three strikes using attack and fighter aircraft. Separately in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 17 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using attack, fighter, and bomber aircraft against ISIL targets. The following is a summary of the strikes conducted against ISIL since the last press release:

Syria

* Near Ayn Isa, two strikes destroyed four ISIL fighting positions and an ISIL vehicle.
* Near Manbij, one strike destroyed an ISIL mortar position.

Iraq

* Near Fallujah, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL vehicles, four ISIL fighting positions, and an ISIL front end loader. One strike is currently under investigation for a potential friendly fire incident.
* Near Kirkuk, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL excavator and wounded ISIL fighters.
* Near Makhmur, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL light machine gun and an ISIL heavy machine gun.
* Near Mosul, six strikes [1 or 2 Canadian, 1 British] struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun, two ISIL fighting positions, damaged an ISIL bunker, and suppressed an ISIL heavy machine gun and an ISIL mortar position.
* Near Ramadi, four strikes [1 British] struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), an ISIL building, nine ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL sniper position, an ISIL staging area, and denied ISIL access to terrain.
* Near Sinjar, three strikes [1 British] struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed two ISIL heavy machine guns, and two ISIL fighting positions.

On Dec. 17, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted three strikes using attack aircraft. Separately in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 19 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using attack, fighter, and bomber 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 mortar position.

* Near Manbij, two strikes destroyed two ISIL fighting positions.

Iraq

* Near Al Baghdadi, one strike denied ISIL access to terrain.

* Near Fallujah, three strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed three ISIL heavy machine guns, four ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL mortar position, two ISIL command and control nodes, an ISIL-used bridge, cratered an ISIL-used road, and denied ISIL access to terrain.

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

* Near Mosul, four strikes [1 Canadian] struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed two ISIL heavy machine guns, two ISIL fighting positions, two ISIL vehicles, and two ISIL assembly areas.

* Near Ramadi, three strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun, six ISIL staging areas, and an ISIL building.

* Near Sinjar, four strikes [1 British] struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed four ISIL vehicles, two ISIL heavy machine guns, two ISIL light machine guns, two ISIL excavators, an ISIL fighting position, and suppressed an ISIL light machine gun position.

* Near Sultan Abdallah, one strike destroyed five ISIL fighting positions and an ISIL communications tower.

Additionally, there was an unreported strike on Dec. 15:

* Near Fallujah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL fighting positions, two ISIL buildings, and denied ISIL access to terrain.

Operations continued on Thursday 17 December, when a Tornado patrol south of Sinjar was able to destroy three vehicles with Brimstone missiles.

In western Iraq, Typhoons worked very closely with an advancing Iraqi unit which had discovered a string of improvised explosive devices blocking the road. The Typhoons dropped a pair of Paveway IVs, which safely detonated the Daesh booby-traps.

During the evening, another Tornado mission in northern Iraq located a large group of terrorists massing for an attempted attack on a Kurdish position, and delivered two Paveways into their midst.

On 17 December 2015, while taking part in coalition operations in support of Iraqi security forces, two CF-18 Hornets successfully struck an ISIS fighting position northwest of Mosul using precision guided munitions.

Actualités des opérations en cours (Barkhane, Chammal, Sangaris, et des forces de souveraineté) du 17 décembre 2015

Proche et Moyen-Orient : Chammal

En Syrie, Daech est durement touché par les frappes de la coalition qui visent les capacités de commandement, de financement et de logistique. Si le groupe terroriste conserve une certaine liberté d’action, il reste sous la pression des forces locales aux marges de son sanctuaire.

En Irak, les forces poursuivent les opérations de reconquête de Ramadi avec le soutien aérien de la coalition. La ville a été piégée par Daech avec des engins explosifs, ce qui contraint les soldats irakiens à progresser lentement. Ils sont néanmoins parvenus à avancer jusqu’au centre-ville. Daech est en position défensive, menant un combat visant à infliger le maximum de pertes dans les rangs des forces irakiennes .

Au sol, les forces irakiennes bénéficient de l’appui de la coalition, avec près de 200 frappes en un mois.

À Baïji, les forces irakiennes consolident les positions acquises face aux combattants terroristes qui conservent une posture de défense ferme de leurs positions.

La coalition maintient un effort sur les zones clefs du terrain dans le Nord du pays —plus particulièrement entre Sinjar et Mossoul.

Dans ce contexte, depuis le 9 décembre 2015, les équipages français ont réalisé 54 sorties aériennes au-dessus des zones contrôlées par Daech en Irak et en Syrie, dont 45 sorties de bombardements en appui des troupes irakiennes au sol ou sur objectif planifié. De plus, 4 vols de recueil de renseignement et 5 sorties de ravitaillement ont été menés. Au total, 12 frappes ont détruit 22 objectifs tenus par Daech.

La force Chammal a ainsi réalisé 11 frappes d’appui au sol (close air support—CAS) concentrant ses efforts dans la région de Mossoul. En 48 heures, les équipages des Rafale Air et des Mirage 2000 ont ainsi effectué 4 frappes, dont 2 dans la seule journée du 9 décembre. 7 frappes ont également été réalisées dans les régions de Tall Afar, Sinjar, Falloujah, et Ramadi.

Le 15 décembre 2015, des Mirage 2000 et des Rafale de l’armée de l’air ont frappé un objectif planifié (deliberate) dans la région d’Al Qaim. Des bâtiments de commandement, d’entrainement et des dépôts logistique ont été détruits. Lors de ce raid, les missiles de croisière SCALP ont été utilisés pour la première fois depuis le lancement de l’opération Chammal.

On Dec. 16, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted seven strikes using attack, bomber, and remotely piloted aircraft. Separately in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 11 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using attack, fighter, bomber, 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 Ar Raqqah, three strikes struck an ISIL financial building, an ISIL headquarters building, and an ISIL training camp.

* Near Al Hawl, one strike destroyed an ISIL artillery piece.

* Near Manbij, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed four ISIL fighting positions and two ISIL bunkers.

* Near Mar’a, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and damaged an ISIL fighting position.

Iraq

* Near Fallujah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL sniper position, an ISIL tunnel, two ISIL heavy machine guns, an ISIL RPG system, and wounded an ISIL fighter.

* Near Hit, one strike destroyed an ISIL home-made explosives cache.

* Near Kirkuk, one strike destroyed an ISIL excavator.

* Near Mosul, two strikes [1 British] struck multiple large ISIL tactical units and three suicide bombers and destroyed 12 ISIL machine guns, 13 ISIL fighting positions, six ISIL vehicles, and an ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED). [see video below]

* Near Ramadi, four strikes [2 British] struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL machine gun, three ISIL fighting positions, five ISIL buildings, three ISIL staging areas, and an ISIL VBIED.

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

Wednesday 16 December proved to be the most intensive day of combat operations by RAF aircraft since the start of the campaign in September 2014.

A pair of Tornados assisted the Iraqi troops battling Daesh on the outskirts of Ramadi, and used Paveway IVs to destroy two heavy machine-gun positions, a sniper team and a group of terrorist fighters.

In northern Iraq, two Tornados, two Typhoons and two Reapers, provided sustained close air support to the Kurdish peshmerga. Our aircraft delivered numerous precision attacks on terrorist targets, to the north and west of Mosul where the peshmerga were engaged in close combat with Daesh, using a mixture of Brimstone, Hellfire, Paveway IV and GBU-12 missiles and bombs. In total, these RAF strikes are estimated to have successfully destroyed four heavy machine-gun positions, two terrorist teams armed with rockets, three Daesh vehicles, one of which was a large truck-bomb, and six groups of terrorists.

In addition, the two Reapers were able to use their advanced reconnaissance sensors to assist twelve successful attacks by other coalition aircraft.

A further pair of Typhoons conducted tactical reconnaissance and another Tornado mission returned to Ramadi, where they destroyed a heavy machine-gun position and two terrorist-held buildings.

Depuis le 9 décembre 2015, les équipages français ont réalisé 54 sorties aériennes au-dessus des zones contrôlées par Daech en Irak et en Syrie, dont 45 de bombardement sur des objectifs planifiés ou d’opportunité et 2 de recueil de renseignement. 22 objectifs de Daech ont été détruits.

Appui au sol

11 frappes d’appui au sol (close air support) ont été réalisées.

• En Irak, la force Chammal a concentré ses efforts sur les missions d’appui au sol dans les régions de Mossoul, Tall Afar, et Ramadi. Les équipages des Rafale et des Mirage 2000 ont ainsi effectué 9 frappes, dont 4 dans la seule journée du 9 décembre.

• 2 frappes ont par ailleurs été réalisées dans les régions de Sinjar, et Falloujah.

Frappes sur des objectifs planifiés

Un raid a été conduits sur un objectif planifié.

Le 15 décembre 2015 dans la région d’Al Qaim en Irak, les Mirage 2000 et le Rafale ont frappé un site de Daech servant à la fois de quartier général, de centre d’entraînement et de dépôt de logistique. Lors de ce raid, la force Chammal a frappé avec des missiles de croisière SCALP pour la première fois depuis le lancement de l’opération.

On Dec. 15, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted six strikes using attack, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft. Separately in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 11 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using attack, fighter, bomber, 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 Ayn Isa, one strike struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL fighting positions.
* Near Manbij, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL checkpoint and an ISIL bunker.
* Near Mar’a, three strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), an ISIL fighting position, and an ISIL staging area.

Iraq

* Near Al Qaim, three strikes struck an ISIL headquarters [French], an ISIL IED facility, and an ISIL VBIED facility. [see video below]
* Near Hit, one strike destroyed two ISIL-used bridges.
* Near Kisik, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL mortar position.
* Near Ramadi, five strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed three ISIL tactical vehicles, two ISIL vehicles, nine ISIL staging areas, five ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL heavy machine gun, three ISIL bed down locations, cratered eight ISIL-used roads, and denied ISIL access to terrain.
* Near Sinjar, one strike [British] struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position.

Mardi 15 décembre 2015 en fin de matinée, les forces françaises ont conduit un raid aérien contre une position de Daech situé en Irak, dans la région d’Al Qaim, dans l’Ouest du pays à la frontière entre l’Irak et la Syrie.

Situé dans la région d’Al Qaim – dans l’Ouest du pays, à proximité de la frontière syrienne, ce site était constitué de bâtiments, dont certains durcis, servant à la fois de quartier général, de centre d’entrainement et de dépôts logistique.

Engagé depuis le Golfe arabo-persique et la Jordanie le raid était constitué d’une dizaine d’avions de chasse (Rafale et Mirage 2000) équipés de bombes et de missiles SCALP (système de croisière autonome à longue portée). L’emploi de ces missiles est une première pour l’opération Chammal.

En parallèle de ces frappes planifiées, les avions de chasse de la force Chammal ont poursuivi leur mission d’appui au sol des troupes irakiennes engagées contre les éléments de Daech.

On Tuesday 15 December, two Tornado GR4s patrolled over eastern Syria and northern Iraq and conducted a successful attack with a Paveway IV laser and GPS guided bomb to destroy a terrorist mortar position near Sinjar.

Further south, two Typhoon FGR4s supported the Iraqi army in its operations around Ramadi, and struck a Daesh encampment with two Paveway IVs.

A second pair of Tornados flew another mission over northern Iraq and destroyed an enemy mortar with a Paveway.

De Nederlandse instructeurs van de Capacity Building Mission Irak trainen momenteel een nieuwe groep Peshmerga. De militairen van de Mobile Training Teams (MTT’s) zijn dik tevreden. Een overzicht van Defensieoperaties in de week van 8 tot 14 december.

De 150 Peshmerga die momenteel de Infanterie Basiscursus krijgen, ontwikkelen zich goed. De Nederlanders in de MTT’s trainen hen in de autonome Koerdische regio van Irak. De coalitie traint nu 800 Koerdische strijders.

Afgelopen week rondden de op 17 oktober gestarte Commando Course en Commando Instructor Course af in de omgeving van Bagdad. Nederlandse militairen trainen samen met coalitiegenoten de Iraakse en Koerdische strijdkrachten om ISIS op de grond te bevechten.

Nederlandse F-16’s, actief in de strijd tegen ISIS in het Midden-Oosten, vlogen ongeveer 10 missies. Ze bestookten een hoofdkwartier en opslagplaatsen van ISIS.

On Dec. 14, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted six strikes using attack and remotely piloted aircraft. Separately in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted eight strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using fighter and bomber 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 wounded two ISIL fighters.

* Near Manbij, two strikes destroyed an ISIL excavator and an ISIL building.

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

Iraq

* Near Al Huwayjah, one strike struck an ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) factory.

* Near Ramadi, four strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed three ISIL light machine guns, an ISIL heavy machine gun, four ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL staging area, and denied ISIL access to terrain.

* Near Sinjar, three strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed three ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL heavy machine gun, an ISIL light machine gun, and halted an ISIL vehicle’s movement.

On Monday 14 December, a Paveway IV attack by Typhoons destroyed a sniper position near Sinjar, while nearby, Tornados silenced a pair of heavy machine-guns that were firing on the Kurdish forces, the Kurds reporting that both weapons hit their targets with great accuracy despite difficult weather conditions.