Coalition Announces Shift in Focus as Iraq Campaign Progresses

Enabled by accelerated successes following the liberation of Mosul, the coalition will shift its focus in Iraq from enabling combat operations to sustaining military gains against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials announced today.

“The coalition will tailor our forces in consultation with our Iraqi partners in order to ensure the lasting defeat of [ISIS]," said CJTF-OIR director of operations, Army Brig. Gen. Jonathan Braga.

As a result of the successful operations by the coalition and its partners, ISIS has lost about 98 percent of the territory it once held in Iraq and Syria. However, coalition commanders have noted ISIS is likely to transition back into an insurgency. ISIS still retains the ability to carry out lethal attacks and poses a potent threat to civilians and to the stability of the region.

"We're clear the enemy is still capable of offensive action and retains the ability to plan and inspire attacks worldwide," Braga said. "Although OIR’s force composition may change over time to ensure we have the best forces on hand for the task, we will retain an appropriate amount of capabilities as well as an advisory presence to continue training, advising and equipping our partners in the continued fight against [ISIS], all with the approval of the government of Iraq.

“Our enduring presence as invited guests in Iraq will shift to focus more on policing, border control and military capacity building. We will sustain the successful momentum and enhance the capacities of the Iraqi security forces in pursuing [ISIS], now and in the future,” Braga said.

Preventing ISIS’ Return

To prevent the conditions under which ISIS can re-emerge, coalition-partnered military operations will enable diplomatic and economic efforts by the international community that will capitalize on the military gains of the past year. “Military success has bought time, space and security for non-military stabilization efforts to help the people of Iraq, and we look to facilitate the return of normalcy for Iraqis," Braga said.

Continued coalition presence in Iraq will be conditions-based, proportional to the need and in coordination with the government of Iraq.

"We will redouble our efforts to develop the Iraqi security forces, ensuring they have the necessary capability and expertise to meet current and future security threats," said British Army Maj. Gen. Felix Gedney, OIR's deputy commander for strategy and support. “We remain committed to working with our Iraqi partners.”

Although the coalition will not provide specifics on individual nations' plans and contributions, it asserts 2018 will be a critical year in adjusting coalition forces as it consolidates gains against [ISIS] and brings hope for a better future to the Iraqi people.

Military Strikes Continue Against ISIS Terrorists in Syria, Iraq

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Feb. 2, 2018 — U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria between Jan. 25 and Feb. 1, conducting 41 strikes consisting of 78 engagements, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Officials reported details of the most recent strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

On Feb. 1 near Abu Kamal in Syria, coalition military forces conducted five strikes consisting of seven engagements against ISIS targets, destroying three ISIS-held buildings, two tactical vehicles, a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, an artillery piece, a weapons cache and damaging two ISIS-held buildings.

On Jan. 31 near Abu Kamal in Syria, coalition military forces conducted seven strikes consisting of eight engagements against ISIS targets, destroying an artillery piece, a construction vehicle, a fighting position, a mortar tube, a staging facility and a headquarters.

On Jan. 31 Near Shadaddi, Syria, a strike destroyed an ISIS fighting position.

On Jan. 30 near Abu Kamal in Syria, coalition military forces conducted seven strikes consisting of 18 engagements against ISIS targets, destroying two ISIS supply routes, three ISIS headquarters, a staging facility, an ISIS motorcycle and an artillery piece.

On Jan. 29 near Abu Kamal in Syria, coalition military forces conducted three strikes consisting of seven engagements against ISIS targets, destroying an ISIS construction vehicle, two ISIS-held buildings and a mortar.

On Jan. 28 near Abu Kamal in Syria, coalition military forces conducted nine strikes consisting of 20 engagements against ISIS targets, destroying three ISIS-held buildings, an unmanned aerial vehicle, three weapons caches, a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, an ISIS van and seven pieces of ISIS construction equipment.

On Jan. 27 near Abu Kamal in Syria, coalition military forces conducted five strikes consisting of 10 engagements against ISIS targets, destroying four fighting positions, an ISIS-held building and six construction vehicles.

On Jan. 26 near Abu Kamal in Syria, coalition military forces conducted five strikes consisting of eight engagements against ISIS targets, destroying a construction vehicle, a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, two fighting positions and two ISIS headquarters.

On Jan. 25 near Abu Kamal in Syria, coalition military forces conducted a strike consisting of two engagements against ISIS targets, destroying an ISIS staging area and a fighting position.

Strikes in Iraq

There were no reported strikes conducted in Iraq on Feb. 1, Jan. 31, Jan. 30, Jan. 29, Jan. 28 and Jan. 26, 2018.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

These strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to destroy ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The destruction of ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria also further limits the group's ability to project terror and conduct external operations throughout the region and the rest of the world, task force officials said.

The list above contains all strikes conducted by fighter, attack, bomber, rotary-wing or remotely piloted aircraft; rocket-propelled artillery; and some ground-based tactical artillery when fired on planned targets, officials noted.

Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike, they added. A strike, as defined by the coalition, refers to one or more kinetic engagements that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single or cumulative effect.

For example, task force officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIS vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against a group of ISIS-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, officials said.

The task force 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.

Coalition Operations Continue to Remove ISIS Leaders

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Feb. 2, 2018 — Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve and its partners continue to remove Islamic State of Iraq and Syria leaders from the battlefield and prevent the terrorist group’s ability to regroup and resume its capacity to threaten citizens of all nations, CJTF-OIR officials reported today.

Coalition airstrikes killed one senior ISIS leader in Syria in November 2017, and another in December 2017, as well as killing four senior ISIS leaders in January 2018. The removal of these key terrorists disrupts ISIS’s leadership and information dissemination activities, reducing the terrorist group’s ability to plan and conduct terrorist attacks both within Syria and Iraq, and abroad.

-- Shaykh Abu Anas al-Furati, an ISIS senior military commander, and two ISIS members were killed by a coalition airstrike on Nov. 27, 2017, near Hajin, Syria. Furati was responsible for coordinating ISIS attacks within Syria. His death further impairs ISIS command-and-control capabilities and reduces its ability to conduct terrorist activities in the region.

-- Abd al-Rahman Filipini, an ISIS military leader, was killed by a coalition airstrike on Dec. 13, 2017, near Hajin, Syria. An additional ISIS member was also killed during the strike.

-- Abd al-Rahman al Tamimi, an ISIS military leader, killed Jan. 2, 2018, near Hajin, Syria.

-- Haytham al-Jazairi, ISIS immigration and logistics committee member, was killed Jan. 6, 2018, near Kharaij, Syria.

-- Hassan al-Jazzari, ISIS immigration and logistics committee leader, was killed Jan. 6, 2018, near Abu Hammam, Syria.

-- Aysh al-Dagestani, an ISIS brigade commander, was killed Jan. 12, 2018, near Kashmah, Syria.

The coalition and its partners continue to exert pressure on ISIS senior leaders and associates across multiple networks in order to degrade, disrupt, and dismantle ISIS structures and remove the terrorists throughout Iraq and Syria.