Small Wars Journal

Airstrikes Against ISIS Dwindle as Caliphate Crumbles

Sat, 04/06/2019 - 7:47am

Airstrikes Against ISIS Dwindle as Caliphate Crumbles by Stephen Losey - Air Force Times

Coalition airstrikes against the Islamic State dropped off considerably in February, as the campaign to oust the militant group from its last strongholds in Syria reached its final stages.

 

Airstrikes as part of Operation Inherent Resolve had dropped off in early 2018, hitting a low for the year in July, when 241 weapons were released, according to statistics posted online by U.S. Air Forces Central Command on Wednesday.

 

But the number of weapons released steadily increased through late summer, and then spiked in November, when 1,424 airstrikes were carried out. Airstrikes then hit the year’s peak in December when 2,214 weapons were released, and ticked down slightly to 2,005 in January.

 

Last month, however, the number of weapons released dropped to 607. That’s the lowest amount since August 2018. AFCENT said in a release that those February airstrikes, in support of allied forces on the ground, helped reduce ISIS territory to less than half a square kilometer…

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