US Central Command on July 19 disclosed that an Air Force F-16, flying a nontraditional ISR mission in support of ground forces in Iraq, attacked an killed an insurgent planting a roadside bomb near Baquba, Iraq. The F-16, which was in action on July 18, identified three possible IED plants on the ground and passed the information to ground forces, which verified the target and called on the F-16 to engage. It strafed the location, killing one of the insurgents. Such kills are becoming more common in the theater, say USAF officials.
The U.S. sent Air Force F-16s over central Syria in a show of force following the Dec. 13 killing of two U.S. Army Soldiers and one American civilian interpreter by a gunman linked to the Islamic State group.
