Page 98 - AirForces - Monthly (February 2020)

Operation Inherent Resolve

base and the political situation was evolving in the early hours of the following day. SDF several insurgents who tried to fire on the assault
by the hour in a very unpredictable way. It and US intelligence had tracked the infamous force, allowing the raiders to land from the
was necessary to secure the site while the leader to a hideout in Idlib province, some Chinooks and then storm Baghdadi’s hideout,
lightly armed special forces contingents 75 miles (120km) to the west of KLZ. before he retreated into a tunnel and detonated
packed up their equipment, so hundreds of Troops from JSOC’s strike unit, the famous a suicide vest, killing himself and two children.
US marines from the SPMAGTF-CR-CC were Delta Force, were given the job of leading The assault team then successfully recovered
flown in to beef-up the perimeter defence. the raid and they were carried to the target to Kobanî to refuel, en route back to Harir.
An added layer of protection was provided by MH-47Gs from the 160th SOAR. While President Trump ultimately decided to change
by the presence of four AH-64Ds from the 1st most media reports claimed that the strike his mind about pulling all troops out of Syria and
Attack Reconnaissance Battalion of the US force launched from an airstrip near Erbil, ordered the US military to remain in the country
Army’s 1st Aviation Regiment, flying from KLZ. subsequent briefings in the Pentagon say the to secure strategic oilfields close to the border
The value of the KLZ was dramatically raiders staged through a forward base in Syria, with Iraq. CENTCOM wanted to ensure it had
illustrated late on October 26 when it provided close to Idlib. That can only have been KLZ. sufficient personnel to defend these oilfields,
the launch pad for the raid that led to the The raid was a dramatic success. Apaches, so it ordered a contingent from the US Army
death of the IS founder, Abū Bakr al-Baghdadi, from the detachment at KLZ, gunned down armoured brigade in Kuwait to move into Syria
with Bradley heavy troop carriers. This was easier
said than done. There were few roads into this
region that were not controlled by hostile forces.
American top brass turned to the USAF to
move the Bradleys and within days C-17s
assigned to the 379th Air Expeditionary
Wing were back in action. The 62nd AW
C-17s first flew to Ali al Salem AB in Kuwait
to pick up the Bradleys and then flew into
a desert strip to the north of Hasakah. This
was a dramatic demonstration of airlift
power that few nations could match.
The Russians are coming
While the Americans were retreating from
Syria, Russian and Syrian troops were
surging into the region controlled by the
SDF, the former ally of the US. This followed
on from the October 22 agreement between
Presidents Vladimir Putin and Erdoğan that
allowed joint Russian and Turkish military
F-22A Raptors remain in the region, now operating from patrols in the border security zone.
Prince Sultan AB in Saudi Arabia. USAF/MSgt Russ Scalf Senior Russian, Turkish and US officers

96 // February 2020 #383 www.Key.Aero

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