ISIS caliphate pounded with strikes in final 2 weeks: US-led coalition
The US-led operation "conducted 250 strikes consisting of 398 engagements against Daesh targets in Syria and Iraq," according to a statement it released to media on Tuesday.
That figure includes strikes in both Syria and Iraq from March 10-23. The final ISIS bastion was in al-Baghouz, Syria, and the group tried to use tunnels and other methods to try to cross the porous border into Iraq.
The joint military operation "detected 72 strikes from other actors that crossed the Euphrates River Valley" without providing details. Iraqi forces and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) counterterrorism units were involved in the operation in cooperation with the SDF.
"In Syria, CJTF-OIR conducted 193 strikes consisting of 338 engagements," the statement added.
The coalition in Syria conducted strikes against "346 Daesh tactical units" and "destroyed 104 vehicles." Additionally, supply routes, fighting positions, 31 vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs), among other ISIS targets were struck.
In comparison the US-led joint operation said it conducted 99 strikes and 139 engagements from February 24-March 9.
Engagements can include strike windows which last hours, days or weeks. The report also does not include ongoing engagements which haven't closed.
"[A]ll strikes [were] conducted by fighter, attack, bomber, rotary-wing, or remotely piloted aircraft, rocket propelled artillery and ground-based tactical artillery,” revealed the statement.
The United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force detailed in separate statement that it struck “terrorist positions” on March 12, destroyed two ISIS buildings on March 17, and killed two ISIS fighters and struck four other ISIS positions on March 18.
In 2014, ISIS controlled nearly one-third of Syria and much of northwestern and central Iraq, including Mosul. It threatened to take over the Kurdistan Regional capital of Erbil and Iraqi capital of Baghdad.
"CJTFOIR and its GoI and ISF partners have liberated 4.5M civilians and 55,670 SQ KM of land," tweeted the US military on Tuesday.
The SDF declared the "total elimination of so-called caliphate and 100 percent territorial defeat of ISIS" on Saturday.
While pundits debate the future of ISIS and what it means for Iraqis and Syrians, the SDF and coalition role in Syria also remains in question.
Following the defeat of ISIS, the US-led joint operation stated ISIS was "seeking to re-establish themselves to conduct a deadly resurgence."
“The Coalition remains steadfast in its assistance to the Iraqi Security Forces as they interdict the Daesh network,” UK Maj. Gen. Ghika, Deputy Commander – Strategy and Information, CJTF-OIR, said in a statement released on Monday.
“The Iraqis and the Coalition will ensure the terrorists learn that nowhere in Iraq is safe for them.”
