August 27, 2014
US president Obama authorised targeted air strikes against Islamist militants in Iraq. Photograph: Yin Bogu/Xinhua Press/Corbis
On August 8, US president Barack Obama announced that he had authorised targeted air strikes against Islamist militants in Iraq.
United States Central Command publishes daily releases which provide information on the US military’s airs trikes against the Islamic State (aka Isis or Isil). We’ve been monitoring the updates and have gathered the main details in to the table that you can see them below.
According to the releases to date (27 August 2014), US Central Command have conducted 98 air strikes across Iraq, with 62 in support of Iraqi forces near the Mosul Dam. The map below shows the areas of Isis influence in Iraq.
Although the releases tell us where the strikes took place and when, the total number of air strikes on each day is stated clearly in some of the notes but not others. Of the 98 air strikes conducted so far, we have been able to locate the dates of 94 of them.
NB: locations are approximate
As you can see from the data, air strikes are occurring in and around three main locations; near the Mosul dam, Sinjar and Irbil. As Dan Roberts and Spencer Ackerman explain:
Obama’s orders to his military commanders were widely drafted and included permission to take action against Isis forces threatening either the thousands of Yazidi refugees trapped on Mount Sinjar, or the cities of Irbil and Baghdad, where US “military advisers” are based.
The full spreadsheet has additional information such as what has been damaged or destroyed in the air strikes.
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