3 fighters killed, Turkish trainers wounded in attack
The 12 US Air Force F-15 Eagles and Strike Eagles will return to the RAF Lakenheath base in England. “The pesh got a little bit of a black eye, but they put the other guy in the hospital”, said Col. Warren.
“I think we are on the verge of breaking the back of Daesh”, he said, using an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group.
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter left the door open to more US boots on the ground in Iraq during a recent press briefing. It may have also been meant to disrupt efforts by the U.S.-led coalition to prepare for the eventual battle to retake Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, which was captured by the group in June 2014.
“An additional and extremely risky factor promoting global tensions is the unlawful presence of the Turkish armed forces on Iraqi territory near the city of Mosul, which arrived there without a request and approval of the legitimate government of Iraq”, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Victory in Ramadi – just 80 miles west of Baghdad – would allow Iraqi security forces to refocus on the northern city of Mosul, considered the Islamic State’s de facto capital in Iraq and the prize in the U.S.-backed campaign there.
Carter deployed about 100 special-operations troops to northern Iraq to conduct raids, free hostages, gather intelligence and capture Islamic State leaders. With coalition air support, they were able to counterattack and regain control of the bridge.
But a decision to employ the helicopters – like a move to embed US advisers with lower-level Iraqi units – would draw the United States even deeper into the war and would expose USA troops to greater risk. Officials in Washington publicly acknowledged that the Turkish-Syrian border is being used to smuggle oil, goods, fighters and weapons but said the Turkish government is not involved.Szubin said the U.S. has been working with the Turkish government to intensify the scrutiny and oversight of less formal financial channels, such as money transfer service businesses and exchange bureaus.
Details of the plan have not been disclosed, and USA officials haven’t said when they may deploy to Iraq.
Carter has been saying he wants to identify new ways that other coalition members can contribute to the campaign.
President Barack Obama said on Monday the USA and its allies were hitting IS “harder than ever” and warned the extremists’ leaders: “You are next”.