American aircraft pounded an ISIS stronghold in northern Iraq on Tuesday, dumping tons of guided munitions on an island in the Tigris River as part of the ongoing campaign against the Islamic terror group.
US warplanes dropped some 80,000 pounds of guided bombs on Qanus Island, which had been controlled by ISIS, in the Salah ad Din province north of Baghdad.
In a video released by Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) spokesman Col Myles B. Caggins Tuesday night, a series of massive explosions can be seen running up and down the length of the island.
Caggins tweeted that US Air Force F-15 and F-35 fighter planes were used in the airstrikes.
“Here’s what it looks like when USAFCENT F-15 and F-35 jets drop 36,000 kg of bombs on a Daesh [ISIS] infested island.”
Iraqi anti-terror units monitored the airstrikes from the shore. According to an American military spokesman, the 2nd Iraqi Special Operations Forces Battalion followed up the airstrikes with “ground clearance operations”.
“We’re denying Daesh the ability to hide on Qanus Island,” said Maj. Gen. Eric T. Hill, Special Operations Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve, commander. “We’re setting the conditions for our partner forces to continue bringing stability to the region.”
The US said the ISIS stronghold on Qanus Island had been a key part of the ISIS transit hub between Iraq and Syria.