US Aircraft Carrier Launching Anti-ISIS Flight Missions From Mediterranean

The US-led coalition has been carrying out frequent airstrikes against ISIS

The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and its strike group began flight operations this week from the Eastern Mediterranean in support of the US-led anti-ISIS coalition in Iraq and Syria, known as Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR).

The US Navy’s Sixth Fleet said aircraft began carrying out flights from the strike group on March 31st. It’s not clear if the planes are carrying airstrikes in Iraq or Syria, but there’s a good chance they are since the campaign against ISIS in Iraq and Syria has stepped up in recent months.

On April 1st, OIR spokesman US Army Col. Wayne Marotto said the coalition carried out an airstrike that killed an ISIS fighter. It’s not always clear from OIR statements which country is responsible for the airstrikes, and there are over 30 members of the coalition, but historically, the US has carried out the bulk of the airstrikes.

Last week, Marotto said US Air Force F-15E and F-16 jets participated in the bombing of ISIS hideouts in the Makmour mountains of Iraq. He said coalition aircraft conducted a total of 312 airstrikes that destroyed 120 hideouts and positions and killed 27.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.