U.S. and Afghan special operations forces conducted operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Afghanistan’s southern Nangarhar province between approximately July 1-30, 2016, a Defense Department spokesman said in a statement released today.
During this time, Deputy Press Secretary Gordon Trowbridge said, U.S. forces conducted an airstrike July 26 targeting Hafiz Sayed Khan, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant-Khorasan emir, in Achin district, Nangarhar province, resulting in his death.
“Khan was known to directly participate in attacks against U.S. and coalition forces,” he said, “and the actions of his network terrorized Afghans, especially in Nangarhar.”
Nangarhar province has been a hotbed for ISIL-Khorasan activity since the summer of 2015, the deputy press secretary noted. The group uses the area to train, equip, disseminate and control fighter pipelines, providing its commanders throughout Afghanistan with a continuous supply of enemy fighters from this province, Trowbridge said.
Khan’s death affects ISIL-Khorasan recruiting efforts and will disrupt its operations in Afghanistan and the region, he said.
Local Forces in Libya, Syria Gain Ground Against ISIL
By Cheryl Pellerin, DoD News
Local forces engaged in tough fighting in Libya and Syria against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant are gaining ground against the terrorist army, a Defense Department spokesman said today.
In Sirte, on the south coast of Syria’s Gulf of Sidra, forces aligned with Libya’s Government of National Accord have reduced territory under ISIL control by about a third over the last week Deputy Press Secretary Gordon Trowbridge told reporters at the Pentagon. The forces, supported by U.S. precision air strikes, continue to take over structures that ISIL had inhabited and once used to launch attacks on friendly forces, he said.
Several locations there were recognizable power centers for ISIL, including a conference center and the Amina Hotel, ISIL’s eastern stronghold in the city, the deputy press secretary said.
“This advance is a testament to the determination of those GNA-aligned forces who have been aided by the precision air power and the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities of the U.S. military,” Trowbridge said.
“Just as we have [done] in Iraq and Syria,” he added, “the coalition’s counter-ISIL efforts in Libya are built on the notion that the way to deal ISIL a lasting defeat — one that sticks — is by supporting capable, motivated local forces that not only can defeat ISIL today, but keep it from rearing its ugly head tomorrow.”
Manbij Recapture
In Syria, although the Syrian Democratic Forces continue fighting to recapture the city of Manbij from ISIL, the terrorist army is “clearly on the ropes,” Trowbridge said.
ISIL has lost the city center and has lost control of Manbij, he added, noting that there are still pockets of opposition especially we believe in the north of the city, but the SDF has made significant progress in wresting control of Manbij from ISIL
The coalition also has strong evidence that ISIL forces are seeking to flee the city, Trowbridge said.
“That … is a major setback for ISIL at the hands of our partners the SDF, including thousands of Syrian Arab troops that are fighting to liberate their own homes. It is also the latest significant milestone in the coalition’s efforts to cut off and eliminate a hub of ISIL activity located outside Syria,” he added.
Manbij has served as a hub for recruiting and processing foreign fighters, the deputy press secretary said, and for dispatching operatives across the Turkish border for potential use in external operations.
“ISIL’s inevitable defeat in Manbij does real damage to ISIL’s capability in those areas,” he added.
As ISIL forces try to run, Trowbridge said the Pentagon is receiving reports that fighters continue to intermix with innocent civilians to use them as human shields — a practice that has not yet been independently confirmed, he noted.
But, the deputy press secretary said, “ISIL has consistently shown a willingness to put innocent lives at risk in blatant violation not only of the laws of armed conflict but of common human decency.”
Meanwhile, Trowbridge added, the Syrian Democratic Forces are exercising great care to prevent civilian casualties and unnecessary damage to Manbij’s civic infrastructure — a challenge because of ISIL’s practice of mining city structures as its fighters flee an area.
Trowbridge said that since May 21, SDF forces have liberated more than 1,000 square kilometers of territory from ISIL, and that supporting coalition forces have destroyed more than 50 ISIL heavy weapons, taken out more than 600 fortified fighting positions, blown up more than 150 ISIL battle vehicles and eliminated a number of ISIL car bombs while conducting more than 680 precision kinetic strikes.
“The coalition also has provided significant amounts of equipment and specialized training to the SDF, he said, “covering everything from training in small-unit tactics to helping them learn how to defeat those ISIL improvised explosive devices.”
Counter-ISIL Strikes Continue in Syria, Iraq
From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release / Published Aug. 13, 2016
U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.
Officials reported details of yesterday’s strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.
Strikes in Syria
Attack and fighter aircraft conducted four strikes in Syria:
— Near Abu Kamal, a strike destroyed an ISIL pump jack.
— Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes destroyed 12 ISIL oil tankers and an ISIL oil storage tank.
— Near Manbij, a strike destroyed an ISIL tactical vehicle.
Strikes in Iraq
Fighter aircraft conducted 10 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:
— Near Baghdadi, a strike destroyed two ISIL communication towers.
— Near Mosul, four strikes struck an ISIL vehicle-borne-bomb factory and three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed six ISIL assembly areas, an ISIL observation post, seven ISIL weapons caches, two ISIL command and control nodes and four ISIL vehicles.
— Near Qayyarah, two strikes destroyed two ISIL command-and-control nodes and an ISIL vehicle-borne-bomb factory.
— Near Ramadi, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed three ISIL fighting positions, two ISIL weapons caches and an ISIL mortar system and denied ISIL access to terrain.
— Near Sinjar, a strike destroyed an ISIL fighting position and suppressed an ISIL mortar position.
From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release / Published Aug. 12, 2016
Strikes in Syria
Attack, bomber and fighter aircraft conducted six strikes in Syria:
— Near Raqqah, a strike destroyed an ISIL excavator.
— Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes destroyed eight ISIL oil tankers.
— Near Manbij, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position.
— Near Ayn Isa, one strike destroyed an ISIL mortar system.
Strikes in Iraq
Bomber and fighter aircraft and rocket artillery conducted 12 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:
— Near Hit, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position.
— Near Mosul, four strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and an ISIL headquarters and destroyed two ISIL vehicles and an ISIL assembly area and suppressed an ISIL tactical unit and denied ISIL access to terrain.
— Near Qayyarah, four strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed four ISIL-used solar panels, two ISIL-used roads, an ISIL headquarters, and an ISIL artillery system and damaged a separate ISIL headquarters.
— Near Ramadi, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed four ISIL vehicles and three ISIL rocket systems.
— Near Sultan Abdallah, two strikes struck an ISIL improvised weapons cache and destroyed an ISIL vehicle bomb storage facility.
From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release / Published Aug. 11, 2016
Strikes in Syria
Bomber, fighter, attack, ground-attack, and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 18 strikes in Syria:
— Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes destroyed 15 ISIL oil tankers.
— Near Manbij, 15 strikes struck 14 separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed eight ISIL fighting positions, six ISIL vehicles, an ISIL heavy machine gun and an ISIL vehicle bomb.
— Near Palmyra, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.
Strikes in Iraq
Fighter and remotely piloted aircraft and rocket artillery conducted nine strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:
— Near Baghdadi, two strikes destroyed five ISIL rocket rails, an ISIL rocket cache, two ISIL-used tunnels, and two ISIL fighting positions.
— Near Hit, a strike destroyed two ISIL vehicles, an ISIL vehicle storage area, and an ISIL mortar cache and damaged an ISIL fighting position.
— Near Mosul, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL artillery piece, an ISIL vehicle and an ISIL fighting position.
— Near Qayyarah, two strikes struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL tactical vehicle, five ISIL assembly areas, two ISIL-used tunnels, two ISIL vehicle bombs, 22 ISIL rocket rails and 22 ISIL rockets and denied ISIL access to terrain.
— Near Ramadi, a strike destroyed an ISIL mortar system and damaged an ISIL fighting position.
— Near Sultan Abdallah, a strike destroyed an ISIL weapons cache.
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