October 28, 2015 By Australian Department of Defence - defencetalk.com

A Royal Australian Air Force KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport aircraft has used its air‑to‑air refueling boom for the first time on operations while refueling a RAAF E-7A Wedgetail last week during a Coalition mission above Iraq. The air-to-air boom refuelling process involved two large aircraft, military versions of the Airbus A330 and Boeing 737-700, approaching within metres of each other while in flight and transferring fuel via a maneuverable pipe, known as a boom, which extends back from the rear of the KC-30A. This type of refuelling involves use of the AAR boom at the rear of the aircraft, rather than the wingtip AAR drogues used to refuel smaller aircraft equipped with an AAR probe. Commander of the Australian Air Task Group, Air Commodore Stuart Bellingham, said establishing and proving the operational boom refueling capability was yet another in a long list of accomplishments by the Australian Defence Force team in the Middle East.

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October 21, 2015 defencetalk.com (AFP)

Ottawa: Canada’s prime minister-elect Justin Trudeau said Tuesday he told US President Barack Obama that Canadian fighter jets would withdraw from fighting the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.

But he gave no timeline.

“About an hour ago I spoke with President Obama,” Trudeau told a press conference.

While Canada remains “a strong member of the coalition against ISIL,” Trudeau said he made clear to the US leader “the commitments I have made around ending the combat mission.”

Canada last year deployed CF-18 fighter jets to the region until March 2016, as well as about 70 special forces troops to train Kurds in northern Iraq.

During the campaign, Trudeau pledged to bring home the fighter jets and end its combat mission. But he vowed to keep military trainers in place.

His new Liberal government will be “moving forward with our campaign commitments in a responsible fashion,” Trudeau said.

“We want to ensure that the transition is done in an orderly fashion.”

13 October 2015 by defenceWeb

Tunisia, Mali, Nigeria, Jordan and Iraq have been identified as potential recipients of up to €100 million in funding from Germany aimed at helping partner countries improve their security situations.

Defense News last week reported that the German government has set up a €100 million fund to help partner countries in Africa and the Middle East. The fund will become operational in the 2016 financial year.

Katrin Suder, state secretary of the German Ministry of Defense, said in Berlin last week that the initiative is designed to help partner countries prevent crises and stabilize their overall security environment. The money will be used to procure equipment and services for tasks like border protection, small arms controls or the clearing of minefields.

The secondary purpose of the fund is to support the German defence industry, as the money will be used primarily to buy equipment and services in Germany. The fund will be jointly managed by the German Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. However, the fund is still awaiting final approval as part of next year’s budget by parliament, with approval possibly being granted in the next few weeks.

Wolfgang Hellmich, chairman of the defence committee of the German Bundestag, expects delivery of German surveillance unmanned aerial vehicles Tunisia, Defense News reports.

The Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM) provides Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) with military training such as shooting, movement, communications, and mission planning, as well as employment of various weapons systems against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Photo: CANSOFCOM, DND

October 9, 2015 by David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen

A number of Iraqi Kurdish troops tested positive for exposure to mustard gas after battles this summer with the Islamic State group in northern Iraq, according to a Kurdish spokesman.

Blood samples from the Kurdish peshmerga fighters sent to a Baghdad lab revealed traces of mustard gas, the spokesman, Jabar Yawar told The Associated Press. The exposure took place during the battles along the front lines near the northern Iraqi towns of Makhmour and Gwer, he added.

Canada’s Department of National Defence, however, said there has not been a need to test Canadian special forces personnel operating with the peshmerga.

“Due to a number of factors including, personnel protection measures, training and proximity to the supposed area of impact, no formalized testing has been conducted of Canadian SOF Task Force personnel, as it was not deemed necessary,” Department of National Defence spokesman Dan Le Bouthillier explained to Defence Watch.

“As is standard practice, CANSOFCOM has conducted risk assessments of all possible threats against our task force personnel in Iraq and does understand that the potential exists for our members to come in contact with biological and chemical agents in the conduct of their advise and assist mandate,” he added. “As such, all CANSOF Task Force members have the appropriate training and protective equipment to safeguard against such scenarios.”

Hazhar Ismail, director of co-ordination and public relations for the Peshmerga Ministry in Irbil said at least 35 peshmerga soldiers tested positive for traces of mustard gas.

The Islamic State militants fired some 50 mortar rounds on Iraqi- Kurdish positions on Aug. 11. At least 37 of them exploded, releasing white smoke and a black liquid.

Yawar said forces from the U.S.-led coalition also took blood and soil samples and those also tested positive.

However, according to Army Col. Steven Warren, the spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq, “the field test was not conclusive.” He added that “testing will be done off-site in a gold-standard laboratory.”

“We continue to monitor reports of chemical weapon use closely and stress that any use of chemicals or biological material as a weapon would be further evidence of ISIL’s barbarity,” Warren added, using an acronym for the Islamic State group.

7 October 2015 Ministry of Defence

On Thursday 1 October, an RAF Reaper remotely piloted aircraft patrolled ahead of Kurdish peshmerga as they conducted their latest offensive against the ISIL terror network in northern Iraq. The Reaper’s crew identified a team of armed terrorists moving on foot and successfully engaged them with a Hellfire missile. The Reaper then provided support to a coalition air strike on an ISIL facility, where car-bombs were being assembled; our aircraft used its sensors to sweep the surrounding area, ensuring there was no risk to civilians, before the air strike went ahead and destroyed the target.

The following day, Tornado GR4s from RAF Akrotiri also provided close air support to the peshmerga, south-west of Kirkuk. ISIL extremists were spotted and were struck by a Paveway IV guided bomb. Meanwhile, further south and west, a Reaper provided surveillance support to a coalition air strike on an ISIL-held building, then used one of its Hellfires to destroy an armoured truck. The Reaper then provided targeting support to another coalition aircraft as it engaged a terrorist heavy machine-gun concealed under trees.

Sunday 4 October saw RAF GR4s patrolling over western Iraq, where they destroyed an anti-aircraft gun position with a Paveway IV. A Reaper was also operating over Anbar province, and it supported coalition air attacks on two Da’ish buildings and a heavy machine-gun. On Monday 5 October, a Reaper, again operating over the west of the country, identified a terrorist team as they planted an improvised explosive device, and successfully attacked them with a Hellfire.

Whilst the coalition air campaign provides extensive air support to current Iraqi security operations, intensive training continues to build up their strength for future offensives, with British military instructors playing their part alongside training teams from other members of the global coalition. A particular focus for the British instructors has been on teaching techniques to minimise the threat posed by the large numbers of improvised explosive devices and booby-traps with which the terrorists attempt to hold up Iraqi advances. The UK has given the Iraqi forces 1,000 Vallon mine-detectors and these, combined with the training provided, have already helped save many lives.

1 October 2015 Ministry of Defence

Latest update

A series of air strikes by Royal Air Force aircraft have helped Iraqi troops maintain relentless pressure on the ISIL terrorist network over recent days. RAF Tornado GR4 and Reaper aircraft have flown daily armed reconnaissance missions as part of the coalition air campaign to support the Iraqi units fighting the terrorists in the front line.

On Sunday 27 September, an RAF Reaper on a surveillance mission over northern Iraq observed a number of armed terrorists as they moved between buildings in a pair of compounds and successfully attacked three terrorist positions, using Hellfire missiles.

On Tuesday 29 September, again in northern Iraq, a Reaper tracked a car carrying a number of ISIL extremists to a building, which was destroyed with a Hellfire. The Reaper was also able to support two other coalition air strikes in the immediate area, which destroyed a vehicle and a fighting position.

The following day, Wednesday 30 September, two Tornado GR4s from RAF Akrotiri, supported by a Voyager refuelling tanker, provided close air support to Kurdish peshmerga advancing west of Kirkuk, who had come under fire from two ISIL heavy machine-gun positions. Both positions were successfully hit using Paveway IVs, removing the threat posed to the Kurdish troops.

Previous air strikes

1 September: A Reaper patrolling in western Iraq, where it spotted a vehicle check-point close to the Syrian border being used by the terrorists to prevent the movement of traffic. The Reaper’s crew conducted a successful strike with a Hellfire.

2 September: Another Reaper provided air support to Iraqi army units operating in western Iraq. The aircraft conducted four successful attacks on terrorist targets. With the ISIL in Ramadi increasingly cut-off and isolated by the Iraqi security forces, terrorists were spotted loading hundreds of mortar and rocket rounds onto a boat, which then attempted to smuggle the ammunition down the Euphrates river. A direct hit by one of the Reaper’s Hellfires sank the boat and its cargo.

The Reaper then destroyed three vehicles – two armoured trucks and a bull-dozer - using a pair of Hellfire missiles and a Paveway guided bomb, with significant secondary explosions confirming large quantities of explosives. Elsewhere in Iraq, a second Reaper successfully attacked a terrorist position with a Hellfire, whilst GR4s located an enemy engineering vehicle near Mosul, constructing a fortified position, and destroyed it with a Paveway.

3 September: A Reaper observed another load of mortar and rocket ammunition being prepared for transport and destroyed it with a Hellfire.

4 September: A Reaper patrol supported two coalition air strikes on terrorist positions, then conducted its own attack on an ISIL team armed with rocket-propelled grenades, after they had fired on Iraqi forces.

6 September: Two Tornado GR4s conducted four Paveway strikes on a series of machine-gun nests near Sinjar, neutralising the threat these presented to the Kurds.

7 September: A Reaper destroyed an ammunition truck, whilst the reconnaissance work of another Reaper discovered a large terrorist network of bunkers and trenches: our aircraft provided targeting support to three successful attacks by coalition fast and conducted five attacks with its own weapons. Near Bayji, a pair of Tornado GR4s flew close air support for Iraqi troops, and used Paveway IVs to destroy three buildings held by terrorist teams.

8 September: A Reaper patrolling over western Iraq discovered several large stockpiles of explosives close to the Euphrates River. It destroyed one of the stockpiles with its own Hellfire missile – a skiff waiting to transport the explosives was sunk in the blast - and helped coalition fast jets target three more. The Reaper’s crew also provided support to successful air strikes on a terrorist-held compound and a fighting position.

9 September: A Reaper used Hellfires to destroy two vehicles being prepared as car-bombs.

10 September: Another Reaper patrol identified a group of heavily armed ISIL fighters gathering in a building. Both the building and a vehicle used by the terrorists were destroyed with Hellfires, and the Reaper also assisted coalition aircraft in 13 successful attacks on further terrorist positions nearby. Elsewhere in the country, a second Reaper conducted two attacks on extremists attempting to attack Iraqi troops, whilst in northern Iraq, a pair of Tornado GR4s used a Paveway IV precision guided bomb to destroy a building from which the terrorists had been firing a heavy weapon at the Kurdish peshmerga.

11 September: A Reaper supported a Kurdish offensive operation to clear an ISIL-held village, in the course of which it engaged a defensive position with a Hellfire.

13 September: Again in northern Iraq, near to Sinjar, a Paveway from a Tornado mission destroyed a terrorist group, armed with rocket-propelled grenades.

14 September: The Tornado GR4s patrolling near Mosul, where they attacked a rocket-firing position, while a Reaper operating over Anbar province, struck a pair of terrorists who had been spotted preparing a booby-trap, then supported two further coalition air strikes in the area.

15 September: A Reaper assisted coalition strikes on ISIL rocket launchers in western Iraq, then used Hellfires to attack an ISIL team as they attempted to arm a “daisy-chain” of linked improvised explosive devices and a GBU-12 guided bomb against a hostile fighting position.

16 September: GR4s bombed two terrorist positions, including a heavy-machine gun, which were firing on Kurdish troops and in western Iraq a Reaper destroyed an engineering vehicle and a large car-bomb which ISIL were positioning to attempt to hold up Iraqi advances.

19 September: Tornado GR4s, supported by a Voyager air-to-air refuelling tanker, provided close air support to Kurdish peshmerga as they conducted offensive operations. Near Sinjar, the peshmerga came under fire from a heavy machine-gun positioned in a building. This was destroyed by our aircraft using a Paveway IV precision guided bomb. The GR4s then flew east to the area around Mosul, where another Kurdish unit was being engaged by a terrorist mortar team; this too was neutralised by a Paveway IV.

20 September: An RAF Reaper remotely piloted aircraft on patrol over western Iraq launched a Hellfire missile which destroyed a stockpile of explosives.

21 September: Another Reaper, operating over north-west Iraq, identified two vehicles carrying ISIL terrorists which were successfully tracked and destroyed with Hellfire missiles.

24 September: Tornado GR4s were again on patrol near Mosul when they were called upon to assist a Kurdish unit under fire from an ISIL mortar; the terrorist position was hit in a Paveway strike.

Details of previous airstrikes can be found here.

For more information see ISIL: UK government response page on GOV.UK

29 septembre 2015 Romandie.com (AFP)

Ankara - L'armée turque a tué plus de trente combattants kurdes au cours d'une opération dans le nord de l'Irak où sont retranchés des rebelles du Parti des travailleurs du Kurdistan (PKK), a annoncé mardi le président turc Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Nous avons mené une opération transfrontalière au cours de la nuit. Plus de 30 terroristes ont été tués, a déclaré le chef de l'Etat dans un discours télévisé.

Le président Erdogan a ajouté qu'il n'y aurait aucun relâchement dans les opérations menées contre les repaires du PKK dans le sud-est de la Turquie et le nord de l'Irak. Nous n'arrêterons pas. Il n'y aura pas de pause, a-t-il dit.

Il a affirmé que 2.000 terroristes ont été tués jusqu'à présent, dans le pays et à l'étranger.

Un bilan récemment établi par la presse favorable au gouvernement faisait état de près de 150 soldats ou policiers et environ 1.100 rebelles du PKK tués dans ces violences.

La Turquie a la compétence et la volonté de parler à l'organisation terroriste dans un langage qu'elle comprend, a poursuivi M. Erdogan.

L'offensive lancée par le pouvoir d'Ankara depuis la rupture de la trêve avec le PKK, en juillet, s'est heurtée à des actions du groupe armé kurde d'une violence inouïe depuis les années 1990.

Certains critiques accusent le président Erdogan de vouloir provoquer un sursaut nationaliste pour retrouver lors des prochaines élections législatives le 1er novembre, la majorité absolue que son parti islamo-conservateur AKP a perdue en juin.

L'aviation turque avait déjà mené début septembre des frappes d'envergure contre des camps du PKK dans plusieurs régions du nord de l'Irak, et les forces terrestres y avaient mené une incursion à la poursuite des rebelles kurdes turcs.

Après deux ans et demi de cessez-le-feu, des affrontements meurtriers ont repris en juillet entre forces de sécurité turques et rebelles kurdes dans le sud-est du pays. Les attaques du PKK et les opérations militaires de représailles se succèdent depuis à un rythme presque quotidien.

Le conflit kurde a fait quelque 40.000 morts depuis 1984.

September 17, 2015 Paul Iddon - warisboring.com

The Kurdish militants are expert mountain fighters and have fought off worse

The Turkish government talks tough. “You cannot discourage us from our war on terror,” Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said earlier this month. “Those mountains will be cleared of these terrorists. Whatever it takes, they will be cleared.” Davutoglu was referring to the bombing campaign against the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, in the Qandil Mountains. Turkish air force F-4 and F-16 fighter-bombers are hitting suspected PKK targets in the Qandil Mountains, and dozens of soldiers on both sides have died since the fighting erupted in July. But it’s hard to imagine Turkey expelling the PKK. The Qandil Mountains are an ideal sanctuary, stretching westward from the Iraq-Iran border about 30 kilometers into Turkish territory. The Turkish military is certainly not unfamiliar with them.

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08.09.2015 Romandie.com (ats)

L'armée turque est entrée mardi sur le sol irakien pour la première fois en quatre ans après une série d'attaques des rebelles du PKK. Ces attentats ont provoqué la mort de plus de 30 soldats ou policiers et plongé un peu plus la Turquie dans la violence. Deux jours après une première embuscade à l'explosif dans laquelle 16 soldats ont péri à Daglica (sud-est), le Parti des travailleurs du Kurdistan (PKK) a réalisé une opération similaire mardi à l'aube contre un minibus de la police, cette fois dans la province d'Igdir, aux confins des frontières avec l'Arménie, l'Iran et l'Azerbaïdjan. Bilan: treize morts et un blessé.

Courte durée

Depuis dimanche soir, les chasseurs F-16 et F-4 de l'aviation turque ont pilonné à plusieurs reprises les bases arrière du mouvement rebelle dans les montagnes du nord de l'Irak et des membres des forces spéciales sont entrés en Irak. "Les forces de sécurité turques ont franchi la frontière irakienne dans le cadre du droit de poursuite visant des terroristes du PKK qui ont commis les récentes attaques", a déclaré une source gouvernementale turque, sans préciser la durée de cette opération. "C'est une mesure de courte durée pour empêcher la fuite des terroristes", a toutefois assuré cette source anonyme. Les frappes aériennes et le raid des forces spéciales ont provoqué la mort de "près de cent terroristes" du PKK, selon l'agence de presse Dogan citant des sources militaires. La précédente incursion de l'armée turque sur le sol irakien, un phénomène courant dans les années 1990 contre les bases arrière de ce mouvement rebelle kurde dans les montagnes, remontait à 2011.

Discours ferme d'Erdogan

Dans un discours très ferme, le président islamo-conservateur Recep Tayyip Erdogan a promis mardi de débarrasser son pays du PKK. "Nous n'avons pas abandonné et nous n'abandonnerons pas cette nation à trois ou cinq terroristes", s'est exclamé M. Erdogan. "Si Dieu le veut, la Turquie, qui a surmonté de nombreuses crises, réussira à se débarrasser de la peste terroriste", a-t-il insisté. L'opération réalisée par le PKK à Daglica a été la plus meurtrière depuis la reprise il y a près de deux mois des affrontements entre l'armée et ce mouvement rebelle. Ces heurts ont fait voler en éclats les discussions de paix engagées à l'automne 2012 pour mettre un terme à un conflit ayait fait quelque 40'000 morts depuis 1984.

Douaniers et ouvriers libérés

Fin juillet, le gouvernement turc a ordonné des frappes aériennes contre les bases du PKK en représailles à des attaques rebelles contre ses forces de sécurité. Les violences sont depuis quotidiennes. Mardi encore, un policer a été tué à Tunceli (est). Le PKK a toutefois annoncé mardi avoir libéré un groupe de 20 agents des douanes et d'ouvriers turcs d'une entreprise de travaux publics qui avaient été enlevés dans l'est de la Turquie il y a près d'un mois. Ils devaient regagner leur pays dans la soirée. Selon le dernier comptage de la presse favorable au gouvernement, les affrontements ont entraîné la mort d'une centaine de soldats ou de policiers et d'un millier de rebelles.

August 28, 2015 by CJTF-OIR Release # 20150828

Military Airstrikes Continue Against ISIL Terrorists in Syria and Iraq

SOUTHWEST ASIA – On Aug. 27, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted seven airstrikes using bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft. Separately in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 13 airstrikes coordinated with the government of Iraq using attack, bomber, fighter, fighter-attack and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets.

The following is a summary of the strikes conducted against ISIL since the last press release:

Syria

• Near Aleppo, one airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit.

• Near Ar Raqqah, one airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit and an ISIL checkpoint.

• Near Al Hasakah, one airstrike struck an ISIL ant-aircraft artillery piece.

• Near Kobani, one airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit.

• Near Washiyah, three airstrikes struck one large and two small ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.

Iraq

• Near Bayji, two airstrikes destroyed three ISIL fighting positions, two ISIL vehicles and an ISIL IED.

• Near Habbaniyah, one airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL light machine gun and an ISIL building.

• Near Haditha, one airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL building and an ISIL motorcycle.

• Near Kirkuk, one airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position and an ISIL heavy machine gun.

• Near Kisik, two airstrikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL excavator and an ISIL fighting position.

• Near Mosul, two airstrikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and an ISIL mortar firing position and destroyed an ISIL checkpoint.

• Near Ramadi, one airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit.

• Near Sinjar, two airstrikes struck two ISIL tactical units and destroyed three ISIL fighting positions and two ISIL light machine guns.

• Near Tuz, one airstrike destroyed an ISIL VBIED.

Airstrike assessments are based on initial reports. All aircraft returned to base safely.

The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the ISIL terrorist group and the threat they pose to Iraq, Syria and the wider international community.

The destruction of ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the group's ability to project terror and conduct operations. Coalition nations which have conducted airstrikes in Iraq include Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, Netherlands, United Kingdom and United States. Coalition nations which have conducted airstrikes in Syria include Bahrain, Canada, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and the U.S.

Aug 13, 2015 - by ISW

 

Since the publication of ISW's last ISIS Sanctuary Map on June 19, 2015, ISIS has escalated attacks to fix opponents in order to protect its core terrain in Iraq and Syria. ISIS launched a failed offensive on Hasaka City to divert Syrian Kurdish forces after the Kurds seized terrain north of ISIS's stronghold of Raqqa. ISIS also escalated attacks against Syrian rebels north of Aleppo, likely in order to disrupt potential efforts by Turkey to establish an "ISIS-free" zone in the area. In Iraq, the Iraqi Security forces and Shi'a militias experienced limited success between Ramadi and Fallujah, as part of an operation to clear ISIS from Anbar announced on July 13. ISIS is now attempting to draw Shia forces away from Anbar by launching spectacular attacks in Baghdad and Diyala. This map features an updated representation of ISIS's control of populated areas along the northern Baghdad-Mosul highway and near Hawija, which has remained constant since June 2014. 

 

  Download the PDF

02/07/2015 lorientlejour.com (AFP)

Le ministre britannique de la Défense, Michael Fallon, a appelé jeudi à un consensus au sein des députés de la chambre des Communes pour autoriser des frappes aériennes contre l'organisation Etat islamique (EI) en Syrie.

Les députés britanniques avaient autorisé à l'automne dernier des frappes en Irak, se ralliant à la coalition internationale qui lutte contre le groupe extrémiste dans cette région, mais pas contre la Syrie. Jeudi, M. Fallon a souligné "le bien fondé" d'effectuer de frapper également dans ce dernier pays soulignant que l'EI ne connaît lui pas de frontière. Mais "le Premier ministre tient compte des réserves de certains membres de cette chambre et n'y présentera pas de motion en ce sens s'il n'y a pas de consensus", a-t-il dit.

En 2013, le Parlement avait infligé un camouflet à David Cameron en votant contre sa demande d'intervention en Syrie, à l'époque contre le régime du président Bachar el-Assad pour son utilisation d'armes chimiques. "Il appartient à tous les membres de cette chambre d'évaluer la meilleure manière de lutter contre l'EI, un califat diabolique qui ne respecte pas de frontières", a ajouté le ministre de la Défense.

Il a toutefois souligné que le gouvernement ne consulterait pas le Parlement avant de mener des frappes dans le cas où "l'intérêt national supérieur britannique serait menacé ou pour prévenir une catastrophe humanitaire". Il a aussi fait valoir que "toute action" qui pourra être prise par Londres "n'apportera aucune aide" au président syrien Bachar el-Assad ni à son régime.

Un éventuel vote ne devrait pas avoir lieu avant l'automne et la désignation du nouveau leader du parti travailliste le 12 septembre prochain.