Published 18:52 IST, September 11th 2019
'ISIS infested' island in northern Iraq bombed by US-led forces
United States has carpet-bombed an island which was populated with Islamic State terrorists; the strikes were conducted by coalition forces in northern Iraq
The United States has carpet-bombed an island which was populated with Islamic State terrorists.
The airstrike was conducted on the Qanus island in the Salah ad Din Province, Iraq by the F15 and F35 fighter jets of the United States Military, who claim to have dropped 36,000 kgs of bombs. The dramatic video was uploaded on Twitter by the official spokesperson of United States's Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) Colonel Myles B. Caggins III. The OIR is the operation name against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. A message in the video states that the strikes were conducted by the coalition and Iraqi counter-terrorism services.
The airstrikes
The video begins with visuals of the island from the air and later shows the moment the area was bombed. Later, the visuals switch to that on the ground level, where a representative of the coaltion forces is taking a video of the attacks, even as military vehicles are seen moving away from the bomb targets.
The video also shows multiple senior military representatives of the coalition forces and the Iraqi forces who are observing the attack and are also recording the same. By the end of the 95-second long video, intense smokes can be seen coming from the island
In another tweet, the official spokesperson said, "the Qanus Island air strike demonstrates our continued partnership to enable ISF to keep its boot on the forehead of ISIS.”
Statements by the US Forces
Another statement released later by the Coalition forces said, "the island is believed to be a major transit hub and safe haven for Daesh. The coalition applies rigorous standards to our targeting and takes extraordinary efforts to protect noncombatants".
After they were defeated in Iraq in 2017, IS sleeper cells have carried out deadly bombings in Iraq. The IS controlled large swathes of Syria and Iraq, where they declared a caliphate in 2014. Major General Eric T. Hill, the commander of the OIR later said, "We're denying [ISIS] the ability to hide on Qanus Island. We're setting the conditions for our partner forces to continue bringing stability to the region."
Updated 21:31 IST, September 11th 2019