Islamic State militants switching up tactics after airstrikes, general says
|
Version 0 of 1. Militants with the Islamic State are adopting new tactics after more than a month of being hit with U.S.-led airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, traveling in groups less often and moving less freely, an Air Force general said Monday. “The bottom line is air power’s targeted actions are disrupting ISIL’s command and control, their logistics and infrastructure and their freedom of movement,” said Maj. Gen. Jeff Harrigian, using one of the acronyms for the militant group that still has control of broad areas of both countries. The Islamic State once traveled frequently in long columns of vehicles, massing forces before attacking towns, military bases and other targets. That occurs less frequently now because it is easy for U.S. forces to spot them with aerial surveillance. “They are a smart adversary, and they have seen that that’s not effective for their survival, so they are now dispersing themselves to allow themselves situations to be more survivable, if you will,” Harrigian said, adding that it “requires us to work harder to locate them, and then develop the situation to appropriately target them.” Harrigian said that the bulk of the strikes — about 74 percent — have been carried out by the U.S. Air Force. Others have been launched by Navy and Marine Corps pilots flying off ships in the Persian Gulf. The Air Force has flown F-22 Raptors in their first combat campaign along with F-15 fighters, B-1B bombers and drone aircraft. To coordinate airstrikes in Iraq, the United States has joint terminal air controllers in military operations centers that communicate with Iraqi and Kurdish troops who are out in the field, the general said. The American JTACs decide what kind of action is appropriate based on the information they receive, Harrigian said. That does not occur in Syria, however, suggesting the United States and its partners are striking the Islamic State based on aerial surveillance alone. |