Iran seizes commercial ship, U.S. responds
Iran Revolutionary Guard patrol boats fire shots at a commercial cargo ship, the Marshall Islands-flagged M/V Maersk Tigris, and then intercept the vessel, which is crossing the Strait of Hormuz. The Tigris issues a distress call and the USS Farragut is ordered to head towards the incident. The Navy says it is “to be determined” what the USS Farragut will do when it reaches the vicinity of the incident.
The Pentagon thinks about 30 individuals are on board. According to a U.S. official, there are no Americans on board the vessel and the U.S. believes that Iranians will “send the ship on its way.” A State Department spokesperson notes that the U.S. has a security compact with the Marshall Islands on defense issues. But he adds that there hasn’t been a specific request for assistance from the Marshall Islands and says it is premature to say whether this could require the use of force.
It’s a key concern of the United States to ensure that sea lanes in the region remain open and safe.
Ground troops considered
The Pentagon says it is considering modest numbers of ground troops to fight alongside Iraqi forces. Joint Chiefs chairman Dempsey to the House Armed Services Committee:
I’m not predicting at this point that I would recommend that those forces in Mosul and along the border would need to be accompanied by U.S. forces, but we’re certainly considering it
The statement comes after Baghdadi releases an audio recording saying that the air campaign has failed.
Airstrikes haven’t slowed recruiting
Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. Kirby says ISIS is still able to recruit in large numbers:
They are facing some attrition through these operations not just from the air but from the ground. But there’s no question that they still possess the ability to reconstitute their manpower and that’s just an indication of the strength of their ideology right now, which is why we’re working hard to counter that, and the fact that this is going to be a long struggle.
He confirms ISIS personnel have been targeted and killed, along with vehicles and installations.
Seizes US weapons cache
The Pentagon drops 28 loads of military grade weapons for the Kurds. Wind shifts one of the loads, falling into the hands of ISIS militants. Turkey criticizes, but US officials say one cache of weapons in not a significant boon for the Islamic State. Apparently, amateur video footage proves militants did seize the cache of weaponry, consisting of rocket-propelled grenades, hand grenades and many other items. Army Lieutenant Colonel Warren:
One bundle worth of equipment is not enough equipment to give the enemy any type of advantage at all. It’s a relatively small amount of supplies. This is stuff [Isis] already has.
Kirby:
I do want to add, though, that we are very confident that the vast majority of the bundles did end up in the right hands. In fact, we’re only aware of one bundle that did not.
Airstrikes push militants back from dam
A total of five airstrikes by U.S. forces succeed in pushing ISIS militants back from an assault on the Haditha dam in Anbar province. The militants had sought to seize the water supply in order to expand their control in the province and gain a strategic staging point for assaults elsewhere in the country. Pro-government paramilitary leader Sheik Ahmed Abu Risha:
They were very accurate. There was no collateral damage … If Islamic State had gained control of the dam, many areas of Iraq would have been seriously threatened, even Baghdad
The Pentagon says the strikes destroyed four ISIS Humvees, four armed vehicles – two of which were carrying antiaircraft artillery – a fighting position, one command post and a defensive fighting position. All aircraft left the strike areas safely.