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SOUTHWEST ASIA, March 10, 2017 U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, conducting 22 strikes consisting of 82 engagements against ISIS targets yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Officials reported details of yesterdays strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 14 strikes consisting of 21 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, six strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit; destroyed five barges, four wellheads and a weapons factory; and damaged an ISIS-held building.

-- Near Raqqa, 13 strikes engaged eight ISIS tactical units; destroyed four vehicles, a fighting position, a tactical vehicle, an ISIS headquarters and a vehicle-borne bomb factory; and damaged three supply routes.

Strikes in Iraq

In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted eight strikes consisting of 61 engagements against ISIS targets, coordinated with and in support of Iraqs government:

-- Near Beiji, three strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed two fighting positions, two vehicles and a weapons cache.

-- Near Huwayjah, a strike damaged a tunnel.

-- Near Mosul, six strikes engaged five ISIS tactical units and an ISIS staging area; destroyed 11 vehicles, nine mortar systems, eight fighting positions, five vehicle-borne bombs, two medium machine guns, two roadblocks, two watercraft, an anti-air artillery system, a supply cache, an ammunition cache and a recoilless rifle; damaged 15 supply routes; and suppressed 10 mortar teams.

-- Near Sinjar, two strikes destroyed a weapons storage facility and an ISIS headquarters

-- Near Tal Afar, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and an ISIS staging area.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

These strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to destroy ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The destruction of ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria also further limits the group's ability to project terror and conduct external operations throughout the region and the rest of the world, task force officials said.

The list above contains all strikes conducted by fighter, attack, bomber, rotary-wing or remotely piloted aircraft; rocket-propelled artillery; and some ground-based tactical artillery when fired on planned targets, officials noted.

Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike, they added. A strike, as defined by the coalition, refers to one or more kinetic engagements that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single or cumulative effect. For example, task force officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIS vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against a group of ISIS-held buildings and weapon systems in a compound, having the cumulative effect of making that facility harder or impossible to use. Strike assessments are based on initial reports and may be refined, officials said.

The task force does not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target.

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Coalition Strikes Continue in Syria, Iraq - Department of Defense

Though OPEC has managed to achieve a high standard of compliance, it has mostly been due to the oversized cut by the largest member of the groupSaudi Arabia. Meanwhile, the actions and statements of the second and third largest producers in OPEC are throwing worrying signs at the oil bulls.

Saudi Arabia is in a catch 22 situation. As the defacto leader of OPEC, it is left to implement most of the production cuts to ensure a high level of overall group compliance. Saudis know that OPEC might not get another chance if it doesnt adhere to its production cuts.

Another reason is the forthcoming IPO of Saudi Aramco. Without higher oil prices, Saudi Arabia might not get the valuation it is expecting for its crown jewel. Aramcos successful listing is vital for reaching Saudi Arabias Vision 2030 objective.

However, two OPEC members, Iran and Iraq, are exploiting Saudi Arabias precarious position by taking steps to boost production. The Kingdom will have to contend with increased production from Iran and Iraq, along with tackling the U.S. shale oil producers.

According to the IEA, Iraq will increase its output to 5.4 million barrels per day by 2022, which is significantly higher than the earlier estimates of an increase to 4.6 million bpd by 2021. Similarly, Iran is expected to boost production by 400,000 bpd to reach 4.15 million bpd production in 2022.

The Iraqi Oil Ministry and the Iranian Oil Ministry have signed a memorandum of understanding to bury their differences on joint oil fields and build a pipeline to export crude oil from the Kirkuk fields, in the north of Iraq, through Iran, reported the Al Monitor.

Iraq, which produced 4.47 million bpd in January, well above its quota of 4.35 million bpd, is capable of raising its output to 5 million bpd in the second half of this year, said Iraqs Minister of Oil, Jabbar Ali Al-Luiebi.

"We achieved this great achievement of 4 million barrels per day ... middle of 2016, and now we have climbed up and we are reaching about 5 million barrels per day beginning of second half of this year," Al-Luaibi said during an interview at CERA Week by IHS Markit, reports CNBC. Related:Oil Prices Continue Plunging As Speculators Rush For The Exit

This is bearish for oil because, along with Saudi Arabia, Iraq will also hold spare capacity that can be ramped up during supply outages.

"Obviously, it's bearish. They're going to have to show considerable production constraint having that spare capacity. That's the kind of capacity historically only the Saudis have had," said John Kilduff, founding partner at energy hedge fund Again Capital, reports CNBC.

Meanwhile, Iran has managed to increase its exports to 3 million bpd, its highest level since 1979. The landmark was reached for just a day, in the current Iranian month that began Feb. 19, said the Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, according to state news agency IRNA, reports Bloomberg.

Iran wants to increase its production to 5 million bpd by 2021. However, it needs investments by foreign investors to achieve that target. This will not be a new high in production for Iran, because it used to pump in excess of 6 million bpd in the 1970s, before the Islamic Revolution drove the western investors away. A fresh round of foreign investment is the key, which is yet to take off in Iran.

Nevertheless, with every major oil producer looking to boost production, the oil glut is here to stay.

By Rakesh Upadhyay for Oilprice.com

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Iran And Iraq To Ramp Up Oil Production Despite OPEC Cuts - OilPrice.com

Editor's note: This story was updated Friday to include comments from U.S. military officials in Baghdad and the head of U.S. Central Command. It was first published Thursday, March 9, at 7:16 p.m., EST.

WASHINGTON The U.S. military is sending an additional 2,500 ground combat troops to a staging base in Kuwait from which they could be called upon to back up coalition forces battling the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

The deployment will include elements of the 82nd Airborne Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team, which is based at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. About 1,700 soldiers from the same unit are overseas now, spread between Iraq and Kuwait. They're focused on the U.S.-led effort to train and assist the Iraqi troops doing much of the fighting against ISIS there.

"So the whole brigade will now be forward," Anderson said.

"There are a number of options under consideration as the coalition looks for ways to accelerate the defeat of ISIS," it says. "We continue to believe that the most effective way to achieve a lasting victory is to do it by, with and through our partner forces who have the greatest stake in the outcome. For operational security reasons, we will not discuss future deployments or contingency operational planning."

All told, the 82nd Airborne's 2nd Brigade Combat Team includes about 4,400 soldiers who compose infantry, artillery and cavalry units, plus their supply pipeline.

Asked on Thursday whether the soldiers soon bound for Kuwait have prepared to operate in such a challenging environment, a military official said they are trained to address "any contingency" in either theater.

The Pentagon earlier this month submitted plans to the White House for speeding efforts to defeat ISIS, one of President Trump's first orders upon assuming office. Those plans are said to include operations in a number of countries, not only Iraq and Syria.

Charlsy Panzino is a staff writer for Army Times. On Twitter: @charlsypanzino. Andrew deGrandpre is Military Times' senior editor and Pentagon bureau chief. On Twitter: @adegrandpre.

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The US is sending 2500 troops to Kuwait, ready to step up the fight in Syria and Iraq - ArmyTimes.com

Iraq War veteran rescues dog that... More Headlines

BRIGGSVILLE, Wis. - When Justin Neumeiers dog, Charles, fell through the ice on Lake Mason, the instincts he developed as a U.S. Marine serving Iraq kicked in and he went out to rescue the black lab.

Maybe it was my Marine Corps mentality, just get it done, Neumeier said.

Serving with the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine, Neumeier saw some of the wars toughest combat in the battle for Ramadi in 2004.

Neumeier says the ice was only a half-inch thick and he could hear it cracking beneath him as he made his way out to Charles. The dog was exhausted from being in the water, which made it difficult for Neumeier to get it out of the water. He had to carry the 90 pound dog back to shore on thin ice.

It probably was not the smartest thing to do in the world, but there are things you care about and things that have a heart and a pulse. You care enough that you want to get them and you treat them right and let them live a good life, Neumeier said.

A veterinarian examined the dog after it was rescued. That vet believes, given the body temperature of the dog, it would not have survived much longer in the water.

When the deed is done, then you realize, OK, boy, I really could have lost him. So you get a little different appreciation for things, Neumeier said.

The current ice conditions on lakes and rivers in southern Wisconsin are unsafe for pets and humans.

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Iraq War veteran rescues dog that fell through ice - Channel3000.com - WISC-TV3

International human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, right, sits with Nadia Murad as she waits to address a Bringing Daesh to Justice event at United Nations headquarters in New York on March 9, 2017

REUTERS

UNITED NATIONS --- Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney urged Iraq and the worlds nations on Thursday not to let the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) get away with genocide.

The wife of actor George Clooney, who represents victims of ISIS rapes and kidnappings, told a U.N. meeting that whats shocking is not just the groups brutality but the passive response by the worlds nations to the campaign to investigate its crimes and bring the perpetrators to justice.

She urged Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to send a letter to the U.N. Security Council so it can vote to set up an investigation into crimes by the group in Iraq where ISIS once controlled about 40 percent of the countrys territory but is now being routed by government and coalition forces.

Justice is what the victims want... Clooney said, but justice will be forever out of reach if we allow the evidence to disappear, if mass graves are not protected, if medical evidence is lost, if witnesses can no longer be traced.

Clooney expressed frustration that nothing has happened since she came to the U.N. six months ago seeking accountability for victims of the ISIS, also known by the Arab name Daesh.

Killing ISIS on the battlefield is not enough. We must kill the idea behind ISIS by exposing the brutality and bringing individual criminals to justice, she said.

Clooney represents Nadia Murad, a Yazidi woman captured by IS in Iraq in 2014, who has spoken out about since her release about being raped, sold as a sex slave, and praying for death while in captivity.

Murad, now a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime for the Dignity of Survivors of Human Trafficking, told the meeting that victims have patiently waited for over a year for the investigation of ISIS to start to be able to at least bury our dead.

Why it is taking so long? I cannot understand why you are letting ISIS get away with it, or what more you need to hear before you will act, Murad said, her voice breaking with emotion. So today, I ask the Iraqi government and the U.N. to establish an investigation and give all the victims of ISIS the justice they deserve.

Clooney addressed prime minister al-Abadi saying it was initially Iraqs idea to involve the U.N. and sending a letter would silence those who doubt your commitment to bring Daesh to justice.

If no letter is forthcoming, she said the Security Council could act without Iraqs consent, or it could refer the extremist group to the International Criminal Court, or the General Assembly could establish an accountability mechanism as it did for crimes in Syria in December. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres could also launch an investigation, she said.

But none of this has happened, Clooney said. Instead, mass graves in Iraq lie unprotected and un-exhumed, witnesses are fleeing and not one ISIS militant has faced trial for international crimes anywhere in the world.

Clooney urged all countries to stand up for justice and demonstrate moral leadership to make sure that ISIS is held accountable.

Britains U.N. Ambassador, Matthew Rycroft, told the meeting he looks forward to finalizing the Security Council resolution with Iraq very, very soon. He said the aim is to assist Iraq with the difficult but crucial challenge of preserving the huge amount of evidence of Daesh crimes committed on Iraqi territory.

Iraqs U.N. Ambassador, Mohamed Alhakim, said the government plans to try cases involving low and mid-level members of Daesh but it will have to work with the international community to bring the top leaders to justice.

He made no mention, however, of U.N. help in preserving evidence or the required letter.

2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Amal Clooney to Iraq, UN: Don't let ISIS "get away with genocide - CBS News