ISIL

Airpower Victory Over Daesh Currently Impossible?

If we’re being candid, the presence of United States airpower in the sky over Iraq and Syria has been the subject of much scrutiny and criticism, both here at home and by other world governments. We have discussed the Rules of Engagement for Operation Inherent Resolve at length, which brings us to one overriding question: […]

Mission Creep: More Marines Head to Baghdad

Twenty-five additional heavily armed U.S. Marines arrived at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad within the last several hours, a U.S. official tells CNN. The Marines were requested by the State Department, which is in charge of security. Concerns have risen since demonstrations occurred there last week in Baghdad’s “Green Zone,” where the embassy is located. […]

Watch: Airstrike Annihilates Daesh [ISIS/ISIL] Tactical Unit

Coalition aircraft engages Da’esh tactical unit near Manbij, Syria, to disrupt terrorist operations and deny freedom of movement and key terrain. The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the Daesh terrorist group and the threat they pose to Iraq, Syria, and the wider international community. The destruction of […]

Terror Pathways: Countering Daesh [ISIS/ISIL] Extremist Propaganda & Recruiting

When the militants of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (also known as ISIS, ISIL, or Daesh) descended on the Iraqi city of Mosul in June 2014, they didn’t just march into town—they simultaneously launched a Twitter hashtag campaign, #AllEyesonISIS. It was blitzkrieg with a digital marketing strategy. Within hours, images of ISIS barbarity spread throughout the […]

Watch: Massive Tunnel Bomb Detonation in Syria

Al Nusra detonated a massive tunnel-bomb or deep buried improvised explosive device (IED), in Allepo, Syria. The attack was followed by an exchange of small arms, Grad-MLRS Rockets and improvised Volcano/Elephant IRAM. https://youtu.be/joING4FvYAA Aleppo remains trapped in an intricate exchange between Syrian Forces (SAA), Daesh [ISIS/ISIL], Free Syrian Army (FSA), Kurdish, and a string of other oddball […]

Dutch Vipers Rarely Used Over Syria

Good evening, FighterSweep faithful! Word out of the Middle East is that the Dutch are seldom able to employ their Vipers over Syria. Lack of SATellite COMmunications is the issue, and it’s a BIG one (so to speak). With so many targets of opportunity and so few troops on the ground, SATCOM is absolutely crucial […]

U.K. Obtains Cache ‘Secret Daesh [ISIS/ISIL] Files’ Identifying 22,000 Terrorists Across the Globe

A U.K. media outlet. Sky News has obtained access to thousands of documents, which contain the names, addresses, telephone numbers and family contacts of 22,000 Daesh [ISIS/ISIL] jihadist fighters. The identities of previously unknown jihadis which remain in Daesh controlled territory, as well as those who have returned home to the United States, Canada, Europe, the U.K., across northern […]

U.S. Uses Roof Knocking to Warn of Impending Airstrikes in Iraq

“Roof knocking” is a controversial Israeli military practice used in the Gaza Strip. It works on a simple logic designed to minimize civilian casualties. Occupants of a building are given a warning a few minutes before a military strike. The first warning is generally a phone call. The second is a rocket. The Israeli military has argued that the practice […]

Watch: The Tools U.S. Special Operations Forces are Bringing to the Fight in Syria

In the footage, troops are clearly behind the lines, as they are operating from recently constructed berms. One soldier is likely operating a Leupold Mk.4 spotting scope on a tripod, while the soldier in front of him is pointing an LA-16U handheld laser marker. The spotting scope contains crosshairs that would give the observer the […]

Watch: Canadian SOF Trains Peshmerga in Fight Against Daesh [ISIS/ISIL]

A swirl of smoke, then the screams. Two men drop to the ground, “blood” squirting from wounds. Orders are barked in Kurdish as Peshmerga soldiers rush to the aid of the fallen. At this military outpost in Northern Iraq, it’s all a drill run by Canadians, a mock mortar attack to test Peshmerga on their […]

Watch: Dead ISIS Fighter’s GoPro Footage Reveals the Fury of Battle in Iraq

Footage found on a GoPro camera which was mounted on the helmet of a dead Daesh [ISIS/ISIL] fighter has revealed an intense first person perspective of a Daesh fighter during a chaotic and battle with Kurdish forces in northern Iraq. Kurdish Peshmerga forces released the footage and said the camera was found after a battle […]