Australian Defence Force Strikes Islamic State Targets in Iraq

Australia’s Defence Force released footage of airstrikes in Iraq conducted in April, May, July and August 2015. The strikes formed part of operation Okra’s Air Task Group, tasked with air combat and support operations in Iraq and Syria in collaboration with a US-led international coalition targeting Islamic State, or Deash, militants.

April’s strikes targeted Mosul, which the Defence Force described as a “major logistics hub at the centre of Deash’s self-appointed state within Iraq”. In May, two F/A-18 Hornets aircraft dropped four 500-pound weapon to destroy two targets in Baiji. In July, airstrikes hit a car bomb factory in the vicinity of Mosul. August’s strikes targeted an Islamic State mortar position near Al Taqaddum, an airbase that is located in central Iraq, approximately 74 kilometers west of Baghdad. Storyful has not independently verified the location of each strike described by the Australian Defence Forces.

More information on the Australian Defence Force Operation OKRA Air Task Group is available here. Credit: Australian Defence Force