Satellite Picture Shows Utter Destruction of ISIS-'Infested' Island After US Bombing
Islamic State group fighters who thought they could use an island on the Tigris River to hide from America and its allies learned differently this week after 80,000 pounds of laser-guided bombs reduced their shelters to smoking craters.
The attack took place on Sept. 10, according to Maj. Gen. Eric T. Hill, commander of the Special Operations Joint Task Force — Operation Inherent Resolve, and the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service.
“We’re denying Daesh the ability to hide on Qanus Island,” Hill said in a statement, using the Arabic term for the Islamic State terror organization.
“We’re setting the conditions for our partner forces to continue bringing stability to the region.”
The attack involved a combination of F-15s and F-35s, according to Air Force Times.
The F-35s from the 388th Fighter Wing and the 419th Fighter Wing based at Hill Air Force Base in Utah have been in the Middle East since April and are currently assigned to Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates.
“Here’s what it looks like when @USAFCENT #F15 and #F35 jets drop 36,000 Kg of bombs on a Daesh infested island,” task force spokesman Col. Myles B. Caggins III tweeted.
VIDEO: Here’s what it looks like when @USAFCENT #F15 and #F35 jets drop 36,000 Kg of bombs on a Daesh infested island. ?? هكذا تبدوا الجزيرة الموبوءة بداعش بعد أن أسقطت عليها الطائرات المقاتلة #أف-15 و #أف-35 36,000 كغم من الذخيرة pic.twitter.com/2v6FAEL9Rn
— OIR Spokesman Col. Myles B. Caggins III (@OIRSpox) September 10, 2019
Caggins told Fox News that the raid will deny Islamic State group fighters a place to hide as they go back and forth from Syria to Iraq.
“This airstrike denied ISIS terrain and hiding areas for smuggling lethal aid and fighters,” he added. “The strikes enabled the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service’s ground clearance operation on Qanus Island.”
Air Force Central Command said the Iraqi government approved the air strikes on what it called “a major transit hub and safe haven for Daesh,” according to Task and Purpose.
“Follow-on ground clearance operations were conducted by the 2nd Iraqi Special Operations Forces Battalion to dismantle a major transit hub for Daesh [ISIS] members moving from Syria and the Jazeera desert into Mosul, Makhmour and the Kirkuk region,” Caggins said.
Caggins said the raid, which killed about 25 people, tried to only hit military targets.
“The coalition applies rigorous standards to our targeting process and takes extraordinary efforts to protect noncombatants,” Caggins said.
A satellite image provided by Planet Labs, Inc., showed smoking holes in bombed-over areas that previously allowed Islamic State group fighters to hide under foliage.
spokesperson for the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service stated 25 ISIS fighters were killed on the island, which they used this area “like a hotel” when traveling from Syria to Iraq. It was a “major transit hub” for ISIS fighters in and out of Syria.? https://t.co/BxuIIRI5AJ
— Sharon Collins (@305local) September 13, 2019
Wim Zwijnenburg, a senior researcher at PAX, a Dutch group, said Islamic State group fighters had nowhere to hide when the raid took place, noting that past images have shown no structures on the island.
Brig. Gen. William Seely, the American commander of Task Force-Iraq, has told ABC News that despite its loss of territory, the fight against the Islamic State group is not over.
“As they withdrew back into Syria, they looked at their future. And so they started sending out fighters, sending out logistics, sending out groups of people to either get back into maybe [internally displaced people] camps or refugee camps and try to blend back,” Seely said.
“They’re trying to get logistics set up. They’re trying to conduct operations. They’re trying to refinance their operations.”
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