U.S., Allies Target ISIL with 24 Airstrikes in Iraq and Syria

The US-led Coalition conducted 20 airstrikes in Iraq and four in Syria targeting ISIL insurgents since early on Thursday, the Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF) announced. (Reuters, 29 May)

In Iraq, airstrikes carried out near Baiji, supporting the Iran-led coalition offensive to retake the oil refinery, and in Ramadi, Fallujah, Baghdadi, Makhmur, Sinjar and Tel Afar. In Syria, airstrikes hit targets near Al Hasakah and Kobani.

The airstrikes were conducted between 8 a.m. on Thursday and 8 a.m. on Friday local time, CJTF said. All aircraft returned to base safely.

File photo: F-16 Fighting Falcon (USAF/DoD/AFP)

Battle to Retake Baiji Refinery

Iran-led Shia militias accompanied by Iraqi security forces (ISF) are involved in heavy fighting today to retake the country’s largest oil refinery in Baiji. ISIL holds large section of the sprawling refinery complex.

“We stormed a building inside the Baiji refinery with the support of Hashid Shaabi [Iran-led Popular Mobilization Forces – PMF]. As you can see, we are inside the refinery now. God willing, within the coming few hours, we will liberate the whole refinery and the area outside the refinery with the help of Almighty God,” a member of Iraqi security forces told Al Jazeera TV. (Al Jazeera, 28 May)

Smoke could be seen as the PMF and ISF forces advanced toward the facility, Al Jazeera reported

PMF officials said earlier today that an area of 50km south of the town of Baiji has been retaken. Control of the refinery has been hotly contested for months. Iraqi forces have recaptured the refinery twice before, but lost it to ISIL. This time the Iran-led coalition forces are to recapture and hold the refinery.

File photo: Smoke rising from Baiji Oil Refinery (CNN)

Iran Military Participating in Fight to Retake Baiji

Iranian forces have taken a significant offensive role in the recent days in the fight to retake the major Iraqi oil refinery in Baiji. Iran was contributing small numbers of troops, including some operating artillery and other heavy weapons in support of advancing Iraqi ground forces. A large number of Iraqi Shia militias under the Iranian command are also taking part in the fight. The U.S.-led coalition has conducted intense airstrikes against ISIL positions in the area in the past week. (AP, 22 May) 

In late March, Iranian forces withdrew from the Battle of Tikrit to protest Prime Minister Abadi’s decision to invite the U.S. to conduct airstrikes against ILIS positions in the city. With the worsening security situation in Iraq, however, the Iranians are back to provide major support to Iraqi forces in the fight against ISIL, notwithstanding continued U.S. airstrikes in the area.

Photo: Smoke rising from Baiji Oil Refinery after an attack by ISIL insurgents in a 2004 file photo (AP/Business Insider)   

Iraqi Forces Besieged at Baiji Oil Refinery

ISIL Insurgents Deep Into Compound

Iraqi forces besieged inside the country’s largest oil refinery are running low on food and ammunition and are pleading for reinforcement to save them from Islamic State insurgents who have advanced deep into the compound in the past week, Reuters reported on Monday. They hold large sections of the sprawling refinery complex where some 200 elite special forces, soldiers and federal police are holding out.

“We are surrounded by Daesh (ISIL) from all sides… We can hear Daesh fighters shouting and threatening to behead anyone they catch. We are running short of ammunition, food and drinking water. We eat only one meal a day. We tear our uniforms to bandage other solders’ and policemen’s wound,” said Mohanad, a policeman speaking via telephone from the refinery where his unit has taken up defensive positions inside the complex. (Reuters, 4 May)

The refinery has been for all practical purposes destroyed during the fighting, but remains one of the most fiercely contested spots in Iraq. The Iraqi security forces are as fiercely battling ISIL nearby to secure a highway leading to the refinery to send reinforcement and supplies.

On 18 April, Iraqi officials said they were fully in control of the compound, but the insurgents have since gained ground and capture large portions of the complex.

File photo: Baiji oil refinery complex (Reuter) 

ISIL Pushing to Capture Iraq Refinery at Baiji

Islamic State insurgents have taken control of half Iraq’s largest oil refinery in Baiji, and have cut supply line to the government troops who are holding out inside the sprawling facility. Last November, Iraqi Security Forces broke a month-long siege of the refinery by ISIL fighters. But they returned and are now on the verge of capturing the refinery.

ISIL now controls “all the major buildings” at Baiji complex, an Iraqi officer told a reporter at McClatchy. 80 percent of the watch towers around the facility is also captured by ISIL fighters, and they have flanked government positions with “snipers and suicide bombers.” (McClatchy, 2 May)

The push by ISIL is an indication of the precarious security situation in Iraq and the fact that the security forces are spread too thin. The refinery has been shut down for a while, but the loss of the facility would be a blow to the government and a huge success for ISIL.

Meanwhile, ISIL took responsibility for late-night car bomb attacks late Saturday in the Karrada district, in the heart of Baghdad, killing at least 19 people. Police said the dead and wounded were mainly shoppers and people commemorating the death of Imam Ali, the key figure in Shia Islam. There has been a major spike in car bombs in Baghdad over the past week, leading to speculations that the insurgents have infiltrated the capital by hiding among thousands of the displaced persons fleeing the fighting in Ramadi.

File photo: Baiji Oil Refinery during its better days (The Guardian)

Iraqi minister of defense, in the news

Still from an Iraqi MOD video posted 08DEC14 of Iraqi Minister of Defense Dr. Khalid al-Obeidi, seen saluting upon disembarking from IqAF Lockheed Martin C-130J-30 "Super Hercules" transport aircraft at Camp Speicher (ORSH).

Of note,  US DSCA announced the last week of November that the Government of Iraq requested a possible 5-year sustainment package for its C-130E/J fleet that includes operational, intermediate, and depot level maintenance, spare and repair parts, support equipment, repair and return, publications and technical documentation, personnel training and training equipment, U.S. Government and contractor logistics support services, and other related elements of logistics and program support. Estimated cost is $800M, and American observers are somewhat skeptical of this request given the poor performance of Iraq's military against ISIL, and the current, cheap price of crude oil. [source: Defense Industry Daily]

Interesting to see the Iraqi minister's adoption of tan CWU27/P nomex fire-retardant flight suit. He wears a distinctive ID patch marked "MINISTER.O.D".

YouTube video posted 08DEC14 depicting Iraqi Minister of Defense Dr. Khalid al-Obeidi at this week's tour of recently liberated Baiji refinery and University of Tikrit.

YouTube video posted 08DEC14 depicting Iraqi Minister of Defense Dr. Khalid al-Obeidi at this week's tour  of Kadhimiya (northern Baghdad). During the last question posed by a member of the press, he is asked about Russian arms developments for Iraq. The minister responds "there's been a few complications regarding recent deliveries."

Photo of outgoing U.S. SecDef Chuck Hagel (right) with Iraqi MOD Dr. Khalid al-Obeidi dated 09DEC14 in Baghdad. [photo: AP]

Iraqi leadership reportedly told SecDef Hagel on Tuesday that their army is "taking the offensive" against the Islamic State group but needs more air power and heavy weaponry to prevail.

Iraqi Forces Break Siege of Baiji Refinery - Liberate City of Baiji

Top U.S. General in Baghdad to Assess Fight against Islamic State

Iraq’s security forces have broken a months-long siege by the Islamic State insurgents of the country’s largest oil refinery in Baiji. The victory came a day after Iraqi forces liberated the nearby town of Baiji, the largest town they have recaptured since IS-led insurgents swept across Iraq’s Sunni heartland in June.

“Iraqi forces reached the gate of the refinery,” said Raad al-Juburi, the governor of Salaheddin province. (AFP, 15 Novermber)

Meantime, General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, arrived in Baghdad today for talks with Iraqi officials on military operations against the Islamic State. This week, General Dempsey told a congressional panel in Washington that American ground forces might have to be deployed in Iraq to assist Iraqi forces in liberating Mosul, the major city overran by IS in June and their capital since then.

File photo: Baiji Oil Refinery (The Guardian)

ISIL Claims Full Control of Key Oil Refinery at Baiji

Crisis in Iraq

ISIL insurgents said today they have fully captured Iraq’s largest oil refinery at Baiji, BBC reported. The refinery had been under siege for 10 days, and Iraqi security forces had repulsed ISIL offensive several times during that period.

The fall of Baiji is a major blow to the government. The refinery complex supplies a third of the country’s refined fuel, and its capture will force gasoline rationing.

The government shut down the refinery on 16 June when the insurgents closed in on the main production units. It was not immediately clear if those units were damaged during the fight. But storage facilities caught fire and smoke could even be seen from the space. The restart of the refinery’s operation would give the rebels the ability to provide fuel to Mosul and other northern towns. The crude oil supplying the refinery comes from the oil fields in Kirkuk, now under Kurdish control.   

The fall of Baiji refinery complex, which also houses a major power station, comes after significant advances by ISIL over the weekend, when they captured all border crossings to Syria and Jordan, and seizing four towns in the north and west. Now ISIL is expected to advance down the Euphrates, with a vital dam near Haditha in imminent danger of falling to the insurgents.

UPDATE (24 June): The ISF says it sent reinforcements to Beiji refinery on Tuesday and its military aviation attacked ISIL positions. So as of 24 June, the government claims that the refinery is still contested, and not under full ISIL control. We should have a firmer situational awareness within a day or two.

Photo credit: Smoke rising from storage tanks at Baiji refinery. (Reuters/BBC)