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Pentagon says IS air strikes are 'just the beginning'
Citat:"This is just the beginning," Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby told reporters on 25 September. "There's no way this group is going to be defeated solely through airpower or even military power."
Rear Adm Kirby was speaking after outlining the airstrikes that US, Saudi, and Emirati aircraft carried out against 12 modular oil refineries in eastern Syria the night before. "It's dramatic and that footage looks pretty cool, but this is going to take time. This is not a short-term effort."
Citat:The first wave of strikes on the night of 22-23 September consisted of more than 40 BGM-109 Tomahawk land-attack missiles fired from the USS Arleigh Burke in the Red Sea and the USS Philippine Sea in the Gulf against three groups of targets near the cities of Aleppo, Al-Raqqah, and Dayr al-Zawr.
A second wave of manned and unmanned aircraft hit targets around Al-Raqqah, including command posts, communication sites, logistic sites, and vehicle parks. This was predominately a US Air Force (USAF) mission involving F-22 Raptors on their first-ever combat mission, Rockwell B-1B Lancer bombers, F-16s, F-15E Strike Eagles, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
A final wave of US Navy F/A-18 and USAF F-16s then hit multiple IS targets along Syria's eastern border with Iraq. Aircraft from four Arab air forces were involved in these strikes.
The Arab allies appear to have been more involved in the strikes on the night of 24-25 September, when 12 small oil refineries were targeted in eastern Syria. Rear Adm Kirby said that 10 of the 16 aircraft that carried out the mission were from Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and launched 23 of the 41 precision-guided munitions (or 80% of the total tonnage of ordnance) used in the attack.
"Producing between 300 and 500 barrels of refined petroleum a day… these small-scale oil refineries provide fuel to run [IS] operations, money to finance their continued attacks throughout Iraq and Syria, and they are an economic asset to support future operations," Rear Adm Kirby said.
http://www.janes.com/article/43748/pentagon-says-i.....-beginning
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