WASHINGTON: The most surprising thing about a Central Command list of 3,222 ISIL targets struck during the air campaign is the number of tanks, Humvees, MRAPs and Armored Personnel Carriers.
Yes, the MRAPs and Humvees are American-made military equipment seized by ISIL as it swept the Iraqi Army aside on its way from Syria to Mosul. Technicals, those wonderful trucks bristling with guns that we all grew to know in Somalia, are the single most common target behind “other vehicles.”
The other interesting number is the 259 strikes against oil installations. The terms strike does not mean the target was completely destroyed. It does mean it appeared to be hit.
The strike list compiled by CentCom does not just include United States aircraft; it includes all coalition aircraft operating in the region against ISIL. Australia, Belgium, Britain, Canada, Denmark, France and the Netherlands are operating in Iraq with the US. Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are operating with the US in Syria..
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