Two videos of attacks on ISIL targets published

TAMPA, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES

03.26.2015

Courtesy Story

U.S. Central Command Public Affairs           

TAMPA, Fla. - Two videos depicting coalition airstrikes against ISIL targets near Tikrit, Iraq, are now available.

1) Airstrike against an ISIL compound March 25 near Tikrit, Iraq
https://www.dvidshub.net/video/396140/cjtf-oir-airstrike-daish-compound-25-mar-15

2) Airstrike against an ISIL-controlled bridge March 25 near Tikrit, Iraq
https://www.dvidshub.net/video/396141/cjtf-oir-airstrike-daish-controlled-bridge-25-mar-15

Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve operations to support Iraqi Security Forces in Tikrit have commenced after a request from the Iraqi Prime Minister, Haider al-Abadi. The Coalition is now providing direct support to Iraqi Security Forces conducting operations to expel ISIL from the city. CJTF-OIR is providing air strikes, airborne intelligence capabilities, and Advise and Assist support to Iraqi Security Force headquarters elements in order to enhance their ability to defeat ISIL.

"These strikes are intended to destroy ISIL strongholds with precision, thereby saving innocent Iraqi lives while minimizing collateral damage to infrastructure," said Lt. Gen. James L. Terry, CJTF-OIR commanding general. "This will further enable Iraqi forces under Iraqi command to maneuver and defeat ISIL in the vicinity of Tikrit."

These strikes are another example of the wide range of support Coalition forces are providing to the Iraqi Security Forces, according to U.S Central Command officials.

"Coalition airstrikes will provide a unique and decisive enabler for the Iraqi Security Forces as they have elsewhere in Iraq," said Col. Patrick Ryder, a U.S. Central Command spokesperson. "We know that ISIL's position in Tikrit is not going to improve."

Ryder also emphasized that the Coalition forces are only coordinating with the Government of Iraq and Iraqi security forces for the ISF-led Tikrit operations.

"We do not coordinate our operations in any way with Iran or Iranian-backed militias," he said.

Ryder also said that while there's been significant media attention on the stalled Tikrit operation which began March 2, coalition forces have continued to actively make progress against ISIL throughout the area of operations in Iraq and Syria, adding that coalition forces are completing these operations simultaneously and in close coordination with the Iraqis.

"Since the beginning of March, coalition forces have conducted more than 300 airstrikes against ISIL targets in support of five separate Iraqi-led operations as well as counter-ISIL operations in Syria," said Ryder. "We have destroyed a significant portion of ISIL's combat capability during this period, to include the elimination of more than 800 ISIL fighters, two tanks, 15 armored personnel carriers, 11 indirect fire systems and 10 anti-aircraft systems from the battlefield."

U.S. Central Command assess that the number of ISIL forces and amount of equipment destroyed over the last three weeks is much larger than what ISIL currently maintains in Tikrit. Through these operations, coalition forces have continued to degrade ISIL's command and control capability, its ability to project combat power, and its ability to resource itself, according to Ryder.

• Date Taken: 03.26.2015
• Date Posted: 03.26.2015 06:34
• Story ID: 158138
• Location: TAMPA, FLORIDA, US