Iraqi Ministry of Defense
A close up look of the ISIS convoy as Iraqi helicopters lay waste to it.
On Tuesday night, and into Wednesday morning, US and Iraqi aircraft carried out two devastating air attacks against ISIS convoys in Iraq, according to Col. Chris Garver, the spokesperson for Operation Inherent Resolve.
Garver tweeted on Thursday that coalition forces decimated 120 ISIS vehicles and 3 vehicle-borne IEDs , and that the Iraqis destroyed another 55 vehicles in strikes that claimed the lives of at least 250 ISIS militants. The militants were fleeing Fallujah, which coalition and Iraqi forces recently liberated from the terror group.
If confirmed, these would be the single most successful strikes yet recorded in the air campaign against ISIS, Reuters reports.
The Iraqi Ministry of Defense posted video showing their Russian made Mi-28 Helicopter carving up a large convoy of vehicles in the desert, as well as the vehicle's charred remains in the aftermath.
Here are Iraqi attack helicopters lighting up the ISIS convoy:
The large convoys represent unusually target-rich and appealing mission for coalition and Iraqi air forces, as ISIS forces usually avoid large, visible gatherings, and usually have to be stalked on a much more granular level.
"We are still trying to determine Da'esh's [ISIS] motives," Garver said.
"What I can say is that we know that Da'esh is well aware of what happens when it assembles into large convoys in the open - Coalition and Iraqi air forces are able to strike them to great effect."