There are more than 100 US troops on the ground in the fight against ISIS for Mosul, Iraq, including air controllers helping to call in strikes. US and coalition aircraft, in the first day of the offensive against ISIS in Mosul, destroyed or suppressed dozens of ISIS targets, according to US Central Command. Strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units and two staging areas, destroyed 10 mortar systems, five artillery systems, four ISIS buildings, four fighting positions, four vehicles, two supply caches, two tower generators, a vehicle bomb facility, and a vehicle bomb, CENTCOM announced. Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said during a Tuesday briefing that there are more than 100 US troops on the ground near Mosul, advising Iraqi and peshmerga troops, including joint terminal attack controllers. ISIS is using human shields in the fight, an example of the “ugly” battle Iraqi forces have expected, Davis said, according to Reuters. Forces so far have faced stiff resistance, with ISIS claiming 12 suicide attacks on the first day, according to The Washington Post.
The U.S. thwarted a drone attack on U.S. forces at Al Asad air base in western Iraq on April 22, marking the first time that American troops have been targeted since February, U.S. officials said. “We can confirm it was an attack on Al Asad,” a defense official told Air & Space…