{"id":20537,"date":"2018-06-12T16:07:52","date_gmt":"2018-06-12T16:07:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/06\/12\/strikes-against-isis-triple-but-further-ground-combat-ops-are-needed-experts-say\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T02:00:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T02:00:41","slug":"strikes-against-isis-triple-but-further-ground-combat-ops-are-needed-experts-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/06\/12\/strikes-against-isis-triple-but-further-ground-combat-ops-are-needed-experts-say\/","title":{"rendered":"ISIS is on the rise again in Iraq and Syria"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In recent weeks coalition forces have more than tripled the number of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/01\/23\/us-airstrikes-decimate-nearly-150-isis-militants\/\" title=\"\" target=\"_blank\">strikes <\/a>they made against ISIS elements in Iraq and Syria. But more ground <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2018\/05\/01\/change-in-iraq-mission-could-mean-some-10th-mountain-soldiers-come-home-early\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">operations <\/a>in pockets of those countries are needed to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/04\/24\/us-led-coalition-isis-may-be-resurgent-on-russias-turf-but-not-ours\/\" title=\"\" class=\"selected-link\" target=\"_blank\">flush <\/a>out the remaining fighters, officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since the May 1 start of \u201cOperation Roundup,\u201d Syrian Democratic Forces resumed offensive combat operations in the Middle Euphrates River Valley, according to the Pentagon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In May the coalition conducted 225 strikes with 280 engagements. That was triple the number of strikes that took place in March, which was 74. And higher than the 183 strikes in April.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/04\/30\/major-combat-operations-against-isis-in-iraq-have-ended-what-happens-now\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ARM-iraq-ops-web.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Major combat operations against ISIS in Iraq have ended. What happens now?<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">With the furling of a flag, top U.S. military leaders marked the \u201cend of major combat operations against ISIS in Iraq\u201d and a change to the U.S.-led coalition\u2019s mission in the country.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Defense Secretary James Mattis told reporters this week that \u201cit\u2019s still a fight.\u201d Partner forces kicked off an attack in one of the \u201clast enclaves\u201d of ISIS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That fighting continues even after the Iraqi city of Mosul was retaken last July and Raqqa, Syria was retaken late last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Though airstrikes have increased, one expert says that might not be the best measure for sweeping out the terrorist organization from the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe strikes alone won\u2019t eliminate residual ISIS presence,\u201d said Jennifer Cafarella, director of intelligence planning for the Institute for the Study of War.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She said the ground advance is key, in part because ISIS fighters have been using tunnels and other subterranean structures to blunt the effectiveness of airstrikes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"5760\" height=\"3520\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/A15-ISIS-empty-town-ruin-4359376.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-45425\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/A15-ISIS-empty-town-ruin-4359376.jpg.jpg 5760w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/A15-ISIS-empty-town-ruin-4359376.jpg.jpg?resize=300,183 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/A15-ISIS-empty-town-ruin-4359376.jpg.jpg?resize=768,469 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/A15-ISIS-empty-town-ruin-4359376.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,626 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/A15-ISIS-empty-town-ruin-4359376.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,939 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/A15-ISIS-empty-town-ruin-4359376.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1252 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 5760px) 100vw, 5760px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A street outside the future Raqqah Women\u2019s Center shows signs of destruction that are all too common throughout Raqqah, Syria, April 22, 2018. Raqqah was liberated from ISIS and is rebuilding and returning to normal with the help of Coalition Forces. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Ambraea Johnson)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A June 1 engagement that involved four strikes in Syria near Abu Kamal destroyed an ISIS-held building and tunnel. Shortly afterward a June 9 strike by coalition forces near Mosul, Iraq destroyed five such tunnels, according to the release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Leaders are talking more about the ground offensive, as Mattis mentioned to media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAt some point, we will continue to move against the other enclaves down in, what we call the MERV or the Middle Euphrates River Valley,\u201d Mattis said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another factor complicating the situation, specifically in Syria, has been that the factions supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad\u2019s regime are present along the Iraq-Syria border, Cafarella said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Officials included commentary on battlefield actions by some ISIS fighters and leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDaesh (ISIS) morale is sinking on the frontlines as privileged Daesh leaders increasingly abandon their own fighters on the battlefield, taking resources with them as they flee,\u201d according to the release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But there might be more to understand with some of those actions and it may be harder to measure the strength of the remaining terrorist forces in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cISIS chose to cede terrain to opposing forces in strongholds like Hawija, (Iraq) in order to preserve capabilities while buying time and space to regroup,\u201d Cafarella said. \u201cThe scale of those residual capabilities is difficult to tell, but they\u2019re there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Reports indicate that ISIS forces have survived numerous attempted clearings in areas near Kirkuk, Iraq, she said. Similar intelligence shows warning signs similar to the rise of the organization beginning in 2011 of local population extortion and fake security checkpoints.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s difficult to gauge the strength of the remaining terrorist fighters in the region, according to reports.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":45421,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":8,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,8,23,92,93,25],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3396],"class_list":["post-20537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-flashpoints","category-home","category-left-column","category-middle-column","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"2PVLRG5WT5HQZLJXWZJFK74BMQ","arc_canonical_url":"\/flashpoints\/2018\/06\/12\/strikes-against-isis-triple-but-further-ground-combat-ops-are-needed-experts-say\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - 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