Operation Inherent Resolve

Operation Inherent Resolve
Part of the international military intervention against the Islamic State and the War on terror

U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornets of VFA-22 take off from USS Carl Vinson to support U.S. efforts for Operation Inherent Resolve in October 2014.
Date15 June 2014 – present
(10 years, 5 months, 1 week and 2 days)
  • Iraq: 15 June 2014 – 9 December 2021
    (7 years, 5 months, 3 weeks and 3 days)
  • Syria: 22 September 2014 – present
    (10 years, 2 months and 2 days)
  • Libya: 13 November 2015 – 30 October 2019
    (3 years, 11 months, 2 weeks and 3 days)
Location
  • Iraq
  • Syria
  • Libya
    • Status

    Ongoing

    • Territorial defeat of ISIL in Iraq on 9 December 2017.
    • Territorial defeat of ISIL in Syria on 23 March 2019.
    • ISIL defeated in Libya.
    • 110,000 square kilometers containing 7.7 million people captured from the Islamic State by Syrian Democratic Forces.
    Belligerents

     United States

     Islamic State[1][2][3]

    al-Qaeda

    Turkistan Islamic Party[8]

    Islamic Front (2013-15)

    Syrian Salvation Government (2017-present)

    Commanders and leaders

    Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Qurashi (leader of IS)
    Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi †
    Abu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi †
    Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi †
    [10][11]
    Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi †
    [12]
    Islamic State Abu Alaa Afri †
    (Deputy Leader of IS)[13]
    Islamic State Abu Mohammad al-Adnani † (Spokesperson)
    Abu Ayman al-Iraqi † (Head of Military Shura)[14]
    Abu Muslim al-Turkmani † (Deputy Leader, Iraq)[15]
    Abu Ali al-Anbari † (Deputy Leader, Syria)
    Abu Omar al-Shishani † (Field commander in Syria)[16][17]

    Abu Khayr al-Masri † (al-Qaeda deputy leader)[18]
    Abu Mohammad al-Julani (Leader of the al-Nusra Front))
    Abu Humam al-Shami †
    (al-Nusra Military Chief and Leader of Hurras al-Din)[19]
    Mohammed Islambouli (Leader of Khorasan)[20]
    Muhsin al-Fadhli † (Leader of Khorasan)[21]
    David Drugeon † (chief bombmaker)[22]

    Abu Yahia al-Hamawi (Emir of Ahrar al-Sham (2015–2017))[23]
    Abu Jaber Shaykh (Emir of Ahrar al-Sham (2014-2015); Emir of Tahrir al-Sham (2017))[24][25]

    Abu Mohammad al-Julani (Emir of Tahrir al-Sham (2017–present))
    Units involved

    Elements of:

    Islamic State Military of IS

    Strength
    United States:

    Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant:

    al-Qaeda:

    • Khorasan: 50[67]
    • Jund al-Aqsa: 2,100[6]

    Islamic Front

    Syrian Salvation Government

    Casualties and losses

     United States

    Islamic State Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant:

    • 80,000+ killed by American and allied airstrikes[85]
    • 32,000+ targets destroyed or damaged (as of 30 September 2016)[86]
      • 164 tanks
      • 388 HMMWVs
      • 2,638 pieces of oil infrastructure
      • 1,000+ fuel tanker trucks[87]
      • 2,000+ pick-up trucks, VBIEDs, and other vehicles

    (per coalition)

    al-Qaeda:

    Islamic Front

    • Ahrar ash-Sham:

    3 killed[88][90][91]
    Syrian Salvation Government:

    • Tahrir al-Sham:
      6 killed[92]

    Tens of thousands of civilians killed by IS (per Iraqi Body Count and SOHR)[93][94]
    Between 8,214 and 13,125 civilians killed by Coalition airstrikes in Syria and Iraq (per Airwars)[95]
    1,335 civilians killed by Coalition Operations (per AirWars)[95]

    Over 970,000 civilians in Iraq and Syria displaced, or fled to Turkey and other countries[96][97][98][99]
    U.S. soldiers from Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division in Syria during Operation Inherent Resolve, 23 November 2020

    Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) is the United States military's operational name for the international war against the Islamic State (IS or ISIL),[100] including both a campaign in Iraq and a campaign in Syria, with a closely related campaign in Libya. Through 18 September 2018, the U.S. Army's III Armored Corps was responsible for Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF—OIR) and were replaced by the XVIII Airborne Corps.[101] The campaign is primarily waged by American and British forces in support of local allies, most prominently the Iraqi security forces and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Combat ground troops, mostly special forces, infantry, and artillery have also been deployed, especially in Iraq. Of the airstrikes, 70% have been conducted by the military of the United States, 20% by the United Kingdom and the remaining 10% being carried out by France, Turkey, Canada, the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Australia and Jordan.[102]

    According to the Pentagon, by March 2019, the day of the territorial defeat in Syria of IS, CJTF-OIR and its partner forces had liberated nearly 110,000 square kilometers (42,471 square miles) of land and 7.7 million people from IS, the vast majority of the self-proclaimed caliphate's territory and subjects.[103] By October 2017, around the time of IS's territorial defeat in Iraq, CJTF-OIR claimed that around 80,000 IS militants had been killed by it and its allies (excluding those targeted by Russian and Syrian Air Force strikes). By the end of August 2019, it had conducted 34,573 strikes.[85][104][105] Tens of thousands more were killed by partner forces on the ground (the SDF alone claimed to have killed 25,336 IS fighters by the end of 2017).[106]

    1. ^ "Islamic State, rival Al Nusra Front each strengthen grip on Syria". Los Angeles Times. 28 November 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
    2. ^ Master. "Negotiations failed between the IS, Jabhat al-Nusra and Islamic battalions". Syrian Observatory For Human Rights. Archived from the original on 17 November 2014.
    3. ^ "War of Words Between al Qaeda and ISIS Continues With Scholar's Smackdown". NBC News. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
    4. ^ "IŞİD ve El Nusra'nın birleştiği iddia edildi". Star Gazete (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
    5. ^ "An internal struggle: Al Qaeda's Syrian affiliate is grappling with its identity". Brookings Institution. 31 May 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
    6. ^ a b Charkatli, Izat (23 February 2017). "Over 2,000 radical rebels defect to ISIS following intra-rebel deal". Archived from the original on 28 May 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
    7. ^ "Search for the dead begins in Idlib after Islamic State-linked brigade leaves for Raqqa". 22 February 2017.
    8. ^ Caleb Weiss (14 February 2017). "Uighur jihadist fought in Afghanistan, killed in Syria". Long War Journal. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
    9. ^ Nick Paton Walsh; Laura Smith-Spark (6 November 2014). "Report: Airstrikes target new Islamist group in Syria". CNN. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
    10. ^ "Islamic State confirms Baghdadi is dead, appoints successor". Reuters. 31 October 2019. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
    11. ^ "ISIS leader killed in US military raid in Syria, with multiple civilian fatalities". TheJournal.ie. 3 February 2022.
    12. ^ "Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi: IS leader 'killed in US operation' in Syria". BBC News. 27 October 2019.
    13. ^ "Report: A former physics teacher is now leading ISIS". Business Insider. 23 April 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
    14. ^ Hubbard, Ben; Schmitt, Eric (27 August 2014). "Military Skill and Terrorist Technique Fuel Success of ISIS". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
    15. ^ Matt Bradley; Ghassan Adnan; Felicia Schwartz (10 November 2014). "Coalition Airstrikes Targeted Islamic State Leaders Near Mosul". The Wall Street Journal.
    16. ^ "Kadyrov Claims Red-Bearded Chechen Militant al-Shishani Dead". ElBalad. 14 November 2014. Archived from the original on 28 January 2015.
    17. ^ "Kadyrov Says Islamic State's Leader From Georgia Killed". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 14 November 2014.
    18. ^ Antonopoulos, Paul (26 February 2017). "BREAKING: Al-Qaeda's deputy leader killed in Idlib drone strike". Archived from the original on 30 June 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
    19. ^ "Syria's Qaeda leader killed in explosion – ARA News". ARA News. Archived from the original on 8 March 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
    20. ^ "Al-Qaida Reasserts Itself With Khorasan Group". NPR. 3 October 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
    21. ^ "Key al-Qaeda figure Muhsin al-Fadhli killed in U.S. airstrike in Syria – Pentagon". BNO News. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
    22. ^ "French jihadist Drugeon killed in Syria: US official". AFP. 11 September 2015. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
    23. ^ "Abu Yahia al-Hamawi, Ahrar al-Sham's New Leader". Syria Comment. 12 September 2015. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
    24. ^ "Syria rebels name slain leader's replacement". Al Jazeera English. 10 September 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
    25. ^ "Syria rebels name slain leader's replacement". Al Jazeera English. 10 September 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
    26. ^ Sgt. Deja Borden (15 April 2015). "Build Partner Capacity strengthens bonds, armies" (PDF) (Press release). Combined Joint Task Force, Operation Inherent Resolve. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 April 2015.
    27. ^ Sisk, Richard (31 October 2017). "ISIS Fires Mortars Near Marines Deployed to Train Iraq Forces". Military.com.
    28. ^ "U.S. Department of Defense, Photo Essay". United States Department of Defense. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
    29. ^ "Space capabilities highlighted in second annual CENTCOM Theater Space Forum". 26 February 2024.
    30. ^ "PATFORSWA: Guardians of the Arabian Gulf". coastguard.dodlive.mil. United States Coast Guard. Retrieved 21 March 2018. PATFORSWA also supported Operation Enduring Freedom and in 2015 transitioned to supporting Operation Inherent Resolve
    31. ^ Michelle Tan (30 December 2014). "2-star on Iraq: 'Still a big fight going on here'". Army Times. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
    32. ^ Crowley, Michael (18 August 2014). "Obama la Mission Creep in Iraq". Time.
    33. ^ Welch, William M (3 September 2014). "US sending 350 more troops to Iraq". USA Today.
    34. ^ "Obama doubling US troop levels in Iraq". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
    35. ^ "Islamic State: Coalition 'pledges more troops' for Iraq". BBC News. 8 December 2014.
    36. ^ "1,000 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne headed to Iraq". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
    37. ^ Barnes, Julian E. (1 October 2014). "2,300 U.S. Marines deploy new quick-reaction force in Kuwait". The Wall Street Journal.
    38. ^ Lamothe, Dan (19 July 2014). "US companies pulling contractors from Iraqi bases as security crumbles". The Washington Post. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
    39. ^ Nissenbaum, Dion (3 February 2014). "Role of US Contractors Grows as Iraq Fights Insurgents". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
    40. ^ "USS Carl Vinson Takes Over Airstrike Campaign From USS George H. W. Bush (Video)". KPBS. Archived from the original on 4 November 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
    41. ^ "See U.S. warships head for ISIS fight". CNN. 13 April 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
    42. ^ "USS Carl Vinson begins return to San Diego". San Diego: CBS 8. 13 April 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
    43. ^ "US airstrikes in Syria", ABC News
    44. ^ Hennigan, W. J.; Cloud, David S. (25 September 2014). "At War – Again". Florida Courier. Archived from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
    45. ^ Foster, Peter (23 September 2014). "US military launches air strikes against Isil in Syria". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 23 September 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
    46. ^ Capaccio, Tony (10 October 2014). "Pentagon Says Islamic State Fight Costs $7.6 Million/Day". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
    47. ^ "Kobani: US drops weapons to Kurds in Syria". The Guardian. Associated Press. 20 October 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
    48. ^ a b "How US is Pinpointing ISIS Targets in Air War". NDTV. Agence France-Presse. 12 October 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
    49. ^ Baldor, Lolita (6 October 2014). "Pentagon: Up to $1.1B cost for Iraq, Syria". Marine Corps Times. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 7 October 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
    50. ^ Majumdar, Dave (25 September 2014). "Exclusive Pictures of Stealth Jet Raid on Syria". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
    51. ^ Rush, James (6 October 2014). "Isis air strikes: US brings in Apache helicopters as British jets target militants in Iraq". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
    52. ^ Trevithick, Joseph (18 November 2014). "U.S. Commandos Are Flying Around Iraq". Medium.com. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
    53. ^ Sanchez, Raf (8 September 2014). "Predator drones being flown over Isil's Syrian 'capital'". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 8 September 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
    54. ^ Gordon, Greg (29 September 2014). "Once targeted, Global Hawk drone now hidden weapon in U.S. airstrikes". McClatchyDC.com. Archived from the original on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
    55. ^ Axe, David (9 March 2016). "Why is America Using These Antique Planes to Fight ISIS?". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
    56. ^ Tegler, Eric (11 March 2016). "The OV-10 Is Even Older Than the A-10 and It's Fighting ISIS Too". Popular Mechanics. Hearst. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
    57. ^ Barbara Starr, U.S. officials say 6,000 ISIS fighters killed in battles, CNN (22 January 2015).
    58. ^ CIA says IS numbers underestimated, Al Jazeera (12 September 2014).
    59. ^ "ISIS militants have army of 200,000, claims senior Kurdish leader". el-balad.com. Archived from the original on 20 November 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
    60. ^ "Islamic State 'training pilots to fly fighter jets'". BBC News. 17 October 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
    61. ^ "U.S.-led forces drop nearly 5,000 bombs on ISIS". Al Arabiya. 8 January 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
    62. ^ "Fears of massacre as Isis tanks lead assault on Kurdish bastion". The Times. 4 October 2014.
    63. ^ "Now ISIS has drones?". CNN. 24 August 2014.
    64. ^ "Footage From an ISIS Drone". NYTimes.com – Video. 30 August 2014.
    65. ^ Taylor, Adam (27 October 2014). "In bizarre new video, Islamic State hostage gives tour of Kobane". The Washington Post blogs.
    66. ^ "ISIS: We Nabbed an Iranian Drone". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
    67. ^ "Gen. Dempsey Claims Airstrikes in Syria that Targeted Khorasan Group Disrupted Plots Against US". KNEB Radio. Archived from the original on 9 October 2014.
    68. ^ Moubayed, Sami (29 January 2017). "Is Syria's Idlib being groomed as Islamist killing ground?". Asia Times.
    69. ^ "Syrian opposition merger in Jan 2017". archicivilians. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
    70. ^ Joscelyn, Thomas (10 February 2017). "Hay'at Tahrir al Sham leader calls for 'unity' in Syrian insurgency". Long Wars Journal. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017.
    71. ^ Al-awsat, Asharq (30 January 2017). "Syria: Surfacing of 'Hai'at Tahrir al-Sham' Threatens Truce – ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English". Archived from the original on 15 February 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
    72. ^ a b "Casualty Status - 21 Nov 23" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
    73. ^ "Pentagon identifies US soldiers killed in Iran-backed militia attack in Jordan". Fox News. 29 January 2024.
    74. ^ "Pentagon IDs Army Reserve soldiers killed in Jordan Tower 22 attack". 29 January 2024.
    75. ^ "Islamic State Kassig murder: Western jihadists probed". BBC News. 17 November 2014. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
    76. ^ "Islamic State Allies In Egypt Say They Killed American Oil Worker William Henderson". The Huffington Post. 1 December 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
    77. ^ "BBC News – Libya hotel attack: Five foreigners among nine killed". BBC News. 28 January 2015.
    78. ^ "Kayla Mueller, American ISIL hostage, is dead,", Al Jazeera America, 10 February 2015
    79. ^ Lamothe, Dan (1 December 2014), "Air Force F-16 pilot killed in crash in Middle East", The Washington Post
    80. ^ "Isil using anti aircraft batteries captured in Iraq", The World Tribune, 12 September 2014, archived from the original on 1 September 2015
    81. ^ Rempfer, Kyle (20 August 2018). "One US service member killed in aircraft crash in Iraq". Military Times.
    82. ^ Rempfer, Kyle (16 March 2018). "CENTCOM: No survivors after US helicopter crash in western Iraq". Air Force Times.
    83. ^ Karouny, Mariam (17 March 2015). "U.S. loses drone over Syria, which claims to have brought it down". Reuters. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
    84. ^ Roba Alhenawi (17 March 2015). "Syria says it shot down U.S. drone". CNN. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
    85. ^ a b "Once promised paradise, ISIS fighters end up in mass graves". The Straits Times. 15 October 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
    86. ^ "Airstrikes in Iraq and Syria". US Department of Defense. 30 September 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
    87. ^ Reuters, Brett Wolf, "RPT-INSIGHT-In taking economic war to Islamic State, U.S. developing new tools", 24 November 2015.
    88. ^ a b "About 3 thousand citizens were killed by the International Coalition warplanes in Syria within about 10700 persons who were killed during 38 months of their military operations in Syria". SOHR. 23 November 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
    89. ^ "U.S. Airstrike Kills More Than 100 al-Qaida Fighters in Syria". US Department of Defense. 20 January 2017.
    90. ^ "US-led air strikes hit al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria". Reuters. 6 November 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
    91. ^ "Pentagon: 11 al Qaeda terrorists killed in airstrikes near Idlib, Syria | FDD's Long War Journal". www.longwarjournal.org. 8 February 2017.
    92. ^ "Air strikes kill 12 fighters in Syria's Idlib: monitor". Reuters. 3 February 2017. Archived from the original on 4 May 2022.
    93. ^ "IS executes 61 people during the ninth month of declaration its alleged "Caliphate"". SOHR. 29 March 2015. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
    94. ^ "Clashes around Aleppo city and more losses in al-Hasakah". SOHR. 29 March 2015. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
    95. ^ a b "US-led Coalition in Iraq & Syria". Airwars. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
    96. ^ "Iraq crisis: Islamists force 500,000 to flee Mosul". BBC News. 11 June 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
    97. ^ "10,000 Yazidis rescued through safe corridor, as ISIL 'fire on aid helicopters'". Hurriyet Daily News. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
    98. ^ "Most US Airstrikes in Syria Target a City That's Not a "Strategic Objective"". Mother Jones. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
    99. ^ At least 20,000 civilians displaced during the Al-Hasakah offensive (February–March 2015); 5,000+ in the Khabur Valley region,[1] and 15,000+ in the Tell Hamis region [2]
    100. ^ "Pentagon Briefing On Operation Inherent Resolve against Daesh". minute 1:20 / 32:56, Archived 3 January 2020 at the Wayback Machine
    101. ^ "CJTF-OIR transitions commanders for defeat-ISIS mission". Operation Inherent Resolve. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
    102. ^ "Resolve Special Reports: Operation Inherent Resolve". U.S. Department of Defense. Archived from 28 March 2017. Accessed 2 July 2019 via the Wayback Machine.
    103. ^ "CJTFOIR Strike Releases March 26 2019" (PDF). CJTF-OIR. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
    104. ^ "CJTF-OIR Monthly Civilian Casualty Report". Operation Inherent Resolve. 30 November 2017. Archived from the original on 21 October 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
    105. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
    106. ^ See Syrian Kurdish-Islamist conflict for complete references.