US Military Releases Video of 'ISIS Island' Infestation Being Blown to Smithereens with 80,000 lbs of Airborne Explosives
Qanus is an island on the Tigris River in Iraq, a haven for the Islamic State terror group, and, as of Tuesday morning, it had been bombed to smithereens by U.S. F-15 and F-35 fighter jets.
The bombing campaign employed approximately 80,000 lbs of bombs, pulverizing the island to “deny Daesh a safe haven,” according to U.S. Central Command.
Islamic State militants were believed to be using dense vegetation on the island to hide from coalition forces.
Even after the bombing, CENTCOM confirmed continued ground clearance operations to clean up any jihadists remaining on the island.
VIDEO: Here’s what it looks like when @USAFCENT #F15 and #F35 jets drop 36,000 Kg of bombs on a Daesh infested island. ?? هكذا تبدوا الجزيرة الموبوءة بداعش بعد أن أسقطت عليها الطائرات المقاتلة #أف-15 و #أف-35 36,000 كغم من الذخيرة pic.twitter.com/2v6FAEL9Rn
— OIR Spokesman Col. Myles B. Caggins III (@OIRSpox) September 10, 2019
According to the Air Force Times, Iraqi special operations forces are conducting that ground clearance in order to prevent the Islamic State terror group from turning the island into “a major transit hub” from Syria into Mosul, Makhmour and the Kirkuk region.
Maj. Gen. Eric T. Hill, Special Operations Joint Task Force — Operation Inherent Resolve commander, said, “We’re setting the conditions for our partner forces to continue bringing stability to the region.”
The island is near Qayyara West Airfield south of Mosul, Iraq, which was once controlled by coalition forces but lost to the Islamic State group after former President Barack Obama withdrew American forces from the region.
The withdrawal allowed the Islamic State terror group to gain its first real foothold and begin spreading a would-be caliphate across the region.
Obama characterized the Islamic State group as a “JV team,” implying that the quickly metastasizing terror organization wasn’t a severe threat.
Reality and the jihadists, however, belied Obama’s description as the Islamic State terror group quickly spread across the Levant.
Taking office in 2017, President Donald Trump quickly ordered the U.S. military to stamp out the “JV team,” and by 2018, BBC reported that according to the U.S.-led coalition, the Islamic State group had lost 98 percent of the territory it once controlled across Syria an Iraq.
While by all appearances the operation to cripple the Islamic State group on Qanus, if not obliterate the terror organization’s forces altogether, was successful, the Air Force Times reminded readers of Army Lt. Gen. Paul LaCamera’s statement in March as Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve commanding general.
“Make no mistake, Daesh is preserving their force,” he said. “They have made calculated decisions to preserve what is left of their dwindling personnel and capabilities by taking their chances in camps for internally displaced persons and going to ground in remote areas. They are waiting for the right time to re-emerge.”
The 2020 election should be considered in terms of that warning.
The candidates currently fielded by the Democratic Party have given voters no reason to believe they understand the threat the Islamic State terror group poses to the Middle East and Western democracies.
As Lt. Gen. LaCamera said, the Islamic State group is “waiting for the right to re-emerge.” Based on history, that right time would be very soon if Democrats manage to take the White House in 2020.
The 2020 race isn’t just an “it’s the economy, stupid” election. It’s also a “the bad guys still want to kill us” election. And on both the economy and national security, Donald Trump is an infinitely better bet than whomever the Democrats produce.
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