“It's a rigorous process of intelligence gathering and analysis before we confirm the strike had its desired effect. When the professionals have gone through the relevant intelligence and that process is completed, we will inform you at once,” he added.
Iraq Operations
Over the past several weeks east of Mosul, Iraq, coalition forces supported peshmerga forces who were conducting Operation Evergreen II. The effort was designed to seize and control key terrain near the Gwer River Bridge, which crosses the Great Zab River, Dorrian said, adding that the operation was executed with 1,500 to 2,000 peshmerga with support from coalition and artillery strikes.
“The coalition used helicopters to lift the artillery into position and then exfiltrated the guns when the operation was complete. The firing solutions this offered provided maximum flexibility for the commander on the ground,” he said.
The operation was conducted Aug. 14-16 and took less than 48 hours to achieve its main goals, Dorrian said. It also liberated 12 villages and, he added, “a lot of people who were living under miserable conditions” under ISIL.
Also in Iraq, Iraqi forces and Counter Terrorism Service forces added Qayyarah to the list of cities liberated from ISIL, Dorrian said.
“In the last two weeks alone the [Iraqis] liberated an additional six villages in the area. The significance of these liberation battles is that the Iraqi security forces continue to gain control of key terrain and lines of communications, while [ISIL] continues to lose freedom of movement and the resources that come from controlling terrain,” he explained.
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