Pentagon: Coalition Warplanes Stepped Up Airstrikes in December

The U.S.-led coalition finished 2014 with a steadily expanding tempo of airstrikes againstIslamic State forces in Iraq and Syria, according to the Combined Joint Task Force, Operation Inherent Resolve.

American and allied warplanes conducted more airstrikes in December than in any of the previous four months since airstrikes began in Iraq in August. In that time, the coalition planes have conducted more than 1,600 strikes.

 

In December alone, the U.S.-led coalition carried out 462 airstrikes in Iraq and Syria. In November, the U.S.-led coalition carried out 356 strikes; in October, 440; and in September, 196. The U.S. conducted over 100 strikes in Iraq in August, according to data from U.S. Central Command.

Analysts say the gradual increase could be due to better targeting data, either through U.S. experts or from regional partners.

“Our special ops or military advisors are getting close enough to the action or … we’re getting better targeting data from our allies,” said Chris Harmer, senior naval analyst at the Institute for the Study of War. Islamic State might also be putting itself in more vulnerable positions, which allows coalition forces to take advantage, he said.

Opening 2015, U.S. and allied jets continued pressing. Officials said Friday that the U.S.-led coalition conducted 23 strikes in a 24-hour period, including 12 in Syria and 11 in Iraq.

A Raqqa activist group said Friday that the U.S.-led coalition carried out more than a dozen airstrikes in and near Raqqa, the heaviest barrage on the seat of Islamic State’s self-proclaimed caliphate since a Jordanian pilot was captured there last week.

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said in November that as Iraqi forces grew stronger, “the tempo and intensity of our coalition’s air campaign will accelerate in tandem.”

Still, the Iraqi government has made little progress in rebuilding its army since its units collapsed in the face of Islamic State’s blitz last year. A U.S.-led training program for Iraqi forces will include as many as 5,000 trainers and advisers from the U.S. and allies to support Iraqi forces, but these efforts are just beginning.

In Iraq, areas near Mosul and Mosul Dam have been the target of the most strikes – nearly 250. Areas near Kobani have been the site of the most strikes in Syria, about 500 – almost twice as many as Mosul.

The U.S. led coalition conducted more strikes in Iraq than Syria in December. In Syria the strikes were largely concentrated around Kobani, but have also included some near oil-rich Deir Ezzour, Al-Hasakah in northeast Syria and Raqqa.

In Iraq, the majority of strikes in the past month have been near Mosul and Sinjar. Areas near Fallujah, Ramadi and Al Qaim in Anbar province have also been targets for the coalition.

 

 

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