(Scout Warrior) Kris Osborn - "U.S. Apache helicopters conducted the first strike against a Da'esh [ISIS] target in Iraq in support of Iraqi Security Forces in the Tigris River Valley June 12. The Government of Iraq approved the use of Apaches in support of ISF operations. The strike was vetted and approved through the same process the Coalition uses for all strikes. The Apache strike destroyed a Da'esh vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) near Qayyarah, Iraq," Department of Defense spokesman Christopher Sherwood said. Ongoing U.S. and allied drone, helicopter and aircraft attacks against ISIS have led the Army to massively rev up its production of air-launched Hellfire missiles, a weapon regularly used to destroy Islamic State buildings, bunkers, armored vehicles, fighter positions and equipment. ISIS fighters regularly hide among civilians and at times use women and children as human shields, making the need for precision air-to-ground weapons all the more pressing.
2016-06-17 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive