Operation Tidal Wave II was a US-led coalition military operation beginning on or about 21 October 2015 against oil transport, refining and distribution facilities and infrastructure under the control of the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ' ...

. Targets include transport trucks, operated by middlemen, which previously were not usually targeted.

Background

Oil was the largest source of funding for ISIL, representing about half of the group's income. Up to September 2016, ISIL controlled six "key oil fields" in Syria, as well as several oil wells in Iraq. While oil production and refining facilities have been bombed before, ISIL had been able to quickly repair the damage. The U.S. raid in May 2015 that killed

Abu Sayyaf Abu Sayyaf (; ar, جماعة أبو سياف; ', ASG), officially known by the Islamic State as the Islamic State – East Asia Province, is a Jihadist militant and pirate group that follows the Wahhabi doctrine of Sunni Islam. It is based ...

, the "emir" of ISIL's oil production, also obtained extensive documents about the workings of ISIL's oil production and operation. This led to efforts focused on inflicting damage that requires hard-to-get parts or is difficult to repair quickly.

History

In November 2015, the Pentagon released a video showing the use of

A-10 The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is a single-seat, twinjet, twin-turbofan, straight wing, straight-wing, Subsonic aircraft, subsonic attack aircraft developed by Fairchild Aircraft, Fairchild Republic for the United States Air Force ...

and

AC-130 The Lockheed AC-130 gunship is a heavily armed, long-endurance, ground-attack variant of the C-130 Hercules transport, fixed-wing aircraft. It carries a wide array of ground-attack weapons that are integrated with sophisticated sensors, naviga ...

s in one attack against oil trucks. On 12 November 2015, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' reported that an email from U.S. military spokesperson

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Steven H. Warren said, "We intend to shut it all down." A goal is the reduction by 2/3rds of ISIL oil revenue. On 16 November 2015, a U.S. Operation Tidal Wave II sortie destroyed 116 ISIL fuel tankers clustered near

Abu Kamal Abu Kamal ( ar, أَبُو كَمَال, ʾAbū Kamāl) or Al-Bukamal ( ar, ٱلْبُوكَمَال, al-Būkamāl) is a city on the Euphrates river in the Deir ez-Zor Governorate of eastern Syria near the border with Iraq. It is the administrat ...

, a city on the Syrian border with Iraq. Four A-10 Thunderbolt IIs and two AC-130 Spectre gunships participated in the raid. Before attacking the trucks the planes conducted several low-level, 'show of force' passes. By late December 2015, Col. Steve Warren announced that airstrikes conducted by the US-led Coalition had destroyed 90% of ISIL's oil production, since the beginning of Operation Tidal Wave II. The Pentagon said that Coalition planes had destroyed about 400 tankers. On 2 April 2016, the ''Washington Post'' reported that more than 200 strikes against oil wells, refineries, pipelines and trucks. U.S. officials said that since the start of the campaign, the Islamic State’s oil production has plummeted, and it has lost both refining capacity and easy access to its black-market dealers in Syria and southern Turkey. On 7 August 2016, "multiple" coalition warplanes destroyed some 83 oil tankers used by the Islamic State near Albu Kamal. It was not immediately clear if the drivers of the oil tankers in Sunday's raids were forewarned.

Avoidance of civilian casualties

Before Operation Tidal Wave II, attacks against oil transport were generally avoided because of the impact on civilian populations and the possibility of killing civilian truck drivers. To avoid killing civilian truck drivers, the US and its allies are doing low passes with aircraft, dropping warning leaflets and firing warning shots. Even with the new rules of engagement, attacks on makeshift refineries, run by civilians, are still off-limits. The U.S. is still attempting to avoid an environmental disaster as well.

References