On Third Anniversary Of ISIS Fight, 5 Million Are Free From Terrorist Army

Cheryl Pellerin at the DoD News offers the below piece:

WASHINGTON, Aug. 7, 2017 — Tomorrow marks the third anniversary of the U.S.-led coalition air campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, during which millions of people have been freed from ISIS control, Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said today.

Briefing the Pentagon press corps, Davis said the air campaign was a response to a terrorist army that came seemingly out of nowhere and emerged as one of the most well-funded, fastest-growing and most capable terrorist networks anywhere in the world.

“On Aug. 8, 2014, two FA-18 [Super Hornet] jets launched from the USS George W. Bush in the [Persian] Gulf and dropped the first 500-pound laser-guided bombs on fighters near Irbil,” Iraq,” Davis said.

ISIS was more than just an insurgency, he added. They were capable of holding 40,000 square miles of territory and able to launch external attacks in Europe and the United States.

At one point they held an area the size of Ohio, Davis said, “and … 8 million people were being ruthlessly held captive by their rule, living in misery, many fleeing their homes, many forced into refugee status, many forced into slavery. And we saw their depravity in videos that they posted on YouTube.”

Although 5 million people are now liberated from ISIS control, ISIS still presents a great threat, he said.

“We know that they continue to murder and wound innocent people -- using them as human shields and displacing families into refugees. And we know that they're spreading to other places. We've seen their attacks in Europe … [and] we've seen their influence shift into places like Afghanistan, Mali, and now even the Philippines.”

Defeat-ISIS Coalition

In the three years since that first air strike, Davis noted, “we've worked very methodically over time with our defeat-ISIS coalition, and ISIS' control has been reduced significantly.”

In Iraq, about 70 percent of the territory ISIS once held is now liberated. In Syria, 50 percent of the territory they once held is liberated, and ISIS has not retaken one inch of territory liberated by the coalition, Davis said.

“This includes places where external operations were [being] hatched and that served as hubs for the flow of foreign fighters in and terrorists out. Places like Manbij, and now Raqqa, their capital in Syria, which is surrounded and collapsing quickly,” he added, noting that all was done with the cooperation of a large coalition.

The coalition now includes 73 partners -- 69 nations plus the European Union, NATO, the Arab League and Interpol, he said.

“The coalition is progressing and ISIS is facing its inevitable defeat. We will win and they will lose. Our campaign against ISIS has been done with the utmost care to minimize civilian casualties,” Davis said, adding that although this campaign has been the most precise in the history of warfare, “Civilians do die in war and that's a sad truth.

“But the 5 million innocent people liberated from ISIS would still be living under that brutality and the death toll would be even higher but for our efforts against ISIS,” he said.

Syria and Iraq

In Raqqa today it is day 64 of Syria operations, Davis said.

“Yesterday the [Syrian Democratic Forces] liberated about a square kilometer of terrain in Raqqa, continuing to work on the three axes that we've talked about before -- west, east and south.

“And the east-west deconfliction line south of the Euphrates is holding as regime forces remain south and SDF forces remain north of that agreed-upon line,” Davis added.

Over the weekend strikes were conducted in Abu Kamal, Shaddadi, Dar Azar and Raqqa. The 24 strikes included 11 ISIS tactical units and destroyed 30 fighting positions, two vehicles, two command-and-control nodes, two mortar systems, a tunnel, a heavy machine gun, an improvised explosive device facility and a vehicle-borne-bomb facility and damaged six fighting positions, he said.

“Meanwhile in Iraq, hold forces are in place in Mosul. This is a combination of Iraqi forces including the Federal Police, the 16th Iraqi Army Division, and [Counter Terrorism Service] battalions that remain in east and west Mosul and continue to assess security requirements,” Davis said.

The coalition continues to support the [Iraqis] as they reset and prepare for follow-on operations in Tal Afar, he said, “which is effectively surrounded at this point and we'll continue to see that tighten as time goes on.”

More strikes took place over the weekend in Huwayjah, Kisik, Rawah and Tal Afar, Davis said. 

Note: In the above U.S. Army photo taken by Staff Sgt. Jason Hull U.S. Army Cpl. Dean Craig chats with a truck crew in Mosul, Iraq on June 8, 2017, before moving to an advise and assist patrol base in a neighborhood liberated from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. 

Statement From Pentagon Spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis On U.S. Strike In Syria

The Pentagon released the below statement:

At the direction of the president, U.S. forces conducted a cruise missile strike against a Syrian Air Force airfield today at about 8:40 p.m. EDT (4:40 a.m., April 7, in Syria).  The strike targeted Shayrat Airfield in Homs governorate, and were in response to the Syrian government's chemical weapons attack April 4 in Khan Sheikhoun, which killed and injured hundreds of innocent Syrian people, including women and children.

The strike was conducted using Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles (TLAMs) launched from the destroyers USS Porter and USS Ross in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.  A total of 59 TLAMs targeted aircraft, hardened aircraft shelters, petroleum and logistical storage, ammunition supply bunkers, air defense systems, and radars.   As always, the U.S. took extraordinary measures to avoid civilian casualties and to comply with the Law of Armed Conflict.  Every precaution was taken to execute this strike with minimal risk to personnel at the airfield.

The strike was a proportional response to Assad's heinous act. Shayrat Airfield was used to store chemical weapons and Syrian air forces.  The U.S. intelligence community assesses that aircraft from Shayrat conducted the chemical weapons attack on April 4.  The strike was intended to deter the regime from using chemical weapons again.

Russian forces were notified in advance of the strike using the established deconfliction line.  U.S. military planners took precautions to minimize risk to Russian or Syrian personnel located at the airfield.

We are assessing the results of the strike.  Initial indications are that this strike has severely damaged or destroyed Syrian aircraft and support infrastructure and equipment at Shayrat Airfield, reducing the Syrian Government's ability to deliver chemical weapons.  The use of chemical weapons against innocent people will not be tolerated.

Note: The above U.S. Navy photo shows the USS Porter at sea. The USS Porter was one of the U.S. warships that launched cruise missiles against Syria. 

U.S. Army Depot Explosion In Japan Remains Under Investigation

Terri Moon Cronk at DoD News Features offers the below piece:

WASHINGTON August 24, 2015 — The cause of an explosion and the resulting large fire at a storage building early today at the Army’s Sagami General Depot in Sagamihara City, Japan, remains under investigation, Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said.

Davis told reporters that no indications of injuries exist, and the building was not designated as a hazardous material storage facility, as some initial reports had suggested. 

“The Sagami General Depot does not store ammunition or radiological materials,” Davis said, adding that the building contained canisters of compressed gasses such as nitrogen, oxygen, Freon and air.
No U.S. military personnel live at the Sagami General Depot, and about 200 personnel work at the depot during the day, officials said.

Fire Died On Its Own

The explosion reportedly triggered a blaze that burned through the night, but the fire died on its own about six hours after it started, shortly before 1 a.m., Japan time, with firefighters standing by, according to U.S. Army Japan reports. By about 5:30 a.m., smoldering was still evident inside the building, but the fire did not spread beyond the building, the reports said.

The concrete single-story building is about the size of a large residence, said Pentagon press operations spokesman Navy Cmdr. William Urban. “The walls of the building remain intact, but the windows and doors are damaged, and about half of the roof collapsed,” he added.

First Responders Arrived Quickly

About 14 Sagamihara City fire department vehicles and 50 firefighters responded to assist Army emergency services with additional assets from the Sagamihara City police, the reports noted.

“The appreciates the quick reaction and support from the local emergency services of our Japanese ally,” Davis said.

Sagami Depot is about 25 miles southwest of Tokyo and has several functions. It stores equipment -- primarily medical supplies for crisis or contingency missions for Army pre-positioned stocks-- and serves as headquarters of the 35th Sustainment Support Battalion, a logistics unit prepared to support the Pacific theater. It also is home to both the Mission Training Complex -- a simulation center -- and elements from the 403rd Army Field Support Brigade, which manages the Army pre-positioned stocks and maintenance activities, the reports said.


The Army and Sagamihara City conduct bilateral emergency response exercises to prepare for such events, officials noted.