Page 6 - Nellis, Creech and NTTR Bullseye 11-25-15

6 November 25, 2015
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OIR spokesman: Coalition cripples ISIL oil distribution
By Lisa Ferdinando
DOD News, Defense Media Activity
The coalition fighting the Islamic State of Iraq
and the Levant unleashed a wave of attacks target-
ing ISIL’s oil distribution chain, disrupting a source
of revenue for the terrorists, an Operation Inherent
Resolve spokesman said today
Speaking to Pentagon reporters via teleconference
from Baghdad, Army Col. Steve Warren said the
coalition destroyed 116 tanker trucks in Abu Kamal
in eastern Syria.
The aim of Operation Tidal Wave II, Warren said,
is to target ISIL’s entire oil distribution chain, which
includes trucks, wellheads, pumps and collection
points.
“This was an extraordinarily ... effective operation,”
he said, noting it was the coalition’s first strike against Warren said. The coalition conducted 79 airstrikes
tanker trucks.
“This was not a piecemeal execution; this was a
sudden strike. This was a tidal wave that swept across
these oil fields and it really crippled them,” Warren
said.
The execution of Tidal Wave II was similar to the
way Tidal Wave I was carried out in the 1940s against
Nazi oil fields in Romania, he said.
The truck drivers were likely not members of ISIL,
but rather civilians, he said.
To minimize the risk to the drivers, the coalition
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members dropped leaflets and flew low past the trucks
to warn of the impending military operation, Warren
said. The strike was carried out by A-10 Thunderbolt
II fighters and AC-130 Hercules gunships.
“We know that oil funds more than 50 percent of
ISIL’s operations,” he said. “We need to take this away
from them so that their operations are more difficult
to conduct.”
Syrian forces reclaim ground from ISIL
Syrian democratic forces liberated Hawl Nov. 14,
the spokesman said.
“ISIL held Al Hawl for the last nine months, but
they retreated as the Syrian democratic forces ap-
proached,” Warren said.
The Syrian democratic forces, he said, capitalized
on the retreat and reclaimed nearly 200 small villages
from ISIL control.
During the two-week campaign for Hawl, friendly
forces reclaimed 730 square kilometers of territory,
in support, killing more than 300 enemy fighters
and destroying 105 ISIL fighting positions, he added.
In addition, Warren said, members of the New Syr-
ian Forces who were trained by the coalition conducted
a mortar raid on an ISIL stronghold in the tri-border
area. They destroyed five buildings and a weapons cache. every single day.”
The spokesman said this was the first mission
of its kind in southern Syria.
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Partner in France
Warren highlighted the contributions from
France to the coalition, and sent condolences for
last week’s terrorist attacks.
“It’s something that we certainly felt here. This
is a coalition that over time becomes a lot like a
family, so our thoughts and our prayers and our
hearts are very much with the French,” he said.
The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle,
which is on its way to the area, will add significant
strike capability to the coalition, Warren noted.
Coalition efforts
The overarching objective of the coalition efforts
is to partner with ground forces, enable them to
conduct offensive operations, and provide coalition
air power to the offensive operations, he explained.
“As indigenous, friendly forces maneuver against
our enemy, it causes our enemy to move. The enemy
has to react,” Warren said. “As soon as the enemy
reacts, we kill them from the air.”
Military leaders have to carefully weigh how
to execute operations against the terrorists while
avoiding civilian casualties, he said.
“This enemy is ruthless; they are brutal; they
are sadistic. They kill and torture for fun,” War-
ren said. “This is a very difficult balance that we
have to do and it’s something that we wrestle with