Monday 18 March – a Reaper killed two terrorists in a trench at Baghuz Fawqani, while Typhoons struck four other Daesh positions…The crew of a Reaper observed two terrorists, who were attempting to conceal their weapons under heavy cloaks, taking up position in a trench at Baghuz Fawqani on Monday 18 March, and successfully engaged them with a Hellfire missile. Typhoons were also patrolling the area, and they conducted an attack which struck four dispersed Daesh positions simultaneously with Paveway IVs.’

Sunday 17 March – Typhoons destroyed a building in Baghuz Fawqani, from which Daesh were engaging the Syrian Democratic Forces at close range…Typhoons conducted a further attack on Sunday 17 March when the SDF came under fire at close range from a building held by Daesh in Baghuz Fawqani. The proximity of the SDF to the target required particular careful targeting by the Typhoons’ pilots, but a single Paveway IV demolished the terrorist position with great accuracy.’

CJTF-OIR Strike Summary Feb. 24 – March 9, 2019 SOUTHWEST ASIA – Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve and its partners continue to target and pursue the enduring defeat of Daesh. CJTF-OIR and its partner forces’ operations are exerting pressure on Daesh senior leaders and associates, as well as degrading, disrupting and dismantling Daesh organizational structures throughout Iraq and Syria. CJTF-OIR remains committed to the enduring defeat of Daesh to improve conditions for peace and stability in the region, and to protect all our homelands from Daesh’s terrorist threat. Strike Summary Between Feb. 24 – March 9, 2019, CJTF-OIR conducted 99 strikes consisting of 139 engagements against Daesh targets in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, CJTF-OIR conducted 97 strikes consisting of 137 engagements, engaged 228 Daesh tactical units, and destroyed 71 tactical vehicles, 35 vehicle borne improvised explosive devices, 17 supply routes, 11 fighting positions, 10 weapons caches, eight staging areas, four command and control nodes, two tunnels, two heavy machine guns, one anti-aircraft gun, one fuel tanker, and one boat. In Iraq, CJTF-OIR conducted two strikes consisting of two engagements. Between Feb. 24 – March 9, 2019, CJTF-OIR detected 88 strikes from other actors that crossed the Euphrates River Valley. CJTF-OIR is committed to avoiding and in every case minimizing civilian casualties; CJTF-OIR calls on all other actors in the area to observe the same precautions. This Coalition strike release contains all strikes conducted by fighter, attack, bomber, rotary-wing, or remotely piloted aircraft, rocket propelled artillery and ground-based tactical artillery. A strike, as defined in the Coalition release, refers to one or more kinetic engagements that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single, sometimes cumulative effect in that location. For example, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone Daesh vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against a group of Daesh-held buildings and weapon systems in a compound, having the cumulative effect of making that facility harder or impossible to use. Strike assessments are based on initial reports and may be refined.

CJTF-OIR does not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target. The information used to compile the daily strike releases is based on ‘Z’ or Greenwich Mean Time. #DefeatDaesh

CHAMMAL

Tuesday 12 March – Typhoons supported the Syrian Democratic Forces attacking Daesh in Baghuz Fawqani, striking dispersed terrorist positions, and destroying a large truck-bomb…Royal Air Force aircraft, alongside other coalition partners, have continued to provide close air support to the Syrian Democratic Forces as they attacked the last remaining Daesh stronghold in eastern Syria, at Baghuz Fawqani. Typhoon, Reaper and Sentinel aircraft have flown daily reconnaissance missions, with the Typhoons and Reapers ready to engage targets if requested by the SDF. On Tuesday 12 March, the SDF came into contact with Daesh in dispersed positions, and two Typhoon FGR4s conducted a series of three attacks, using a total of four Paveway IV guided bombs, which successfully silenced the terrorists’ fire. In addition, a large number of vehicles had been abandoned in the area of the fighting, and one large truck in their midst was identified as booby-trapped with an improvised explosive device. The Typhoons were able to pick out and safely destroy this truck-bomb with a single Brimstone 2 missile.’

CHAMMAL

Saturday 2 March – a Reaper killed a small group of terrorists around Baghuz Fawqani in eastern Syria…A Reaper provided close air support to the Syrian Democratic Forces as they fought Daesh around Baghuz Fawqani on Saturday 2 March. The Reaper’s crew observed a rocket-propelled grenade being fired from a building, and shortly afterwards a small group of armed terrorists emerged. They were tracked by the Reaper, whilst careful checks were made that no SDF or otherwise unidentified individuals were too close to them, then successfully engaged with a single Hellfire missile.