Photo by David B. Gleason via Flickr
On Tuesday, April 26th the United States adopted a unique Israeli tactic in its fight against ISIS: exploding a missile above a building to warn civilians inside that it’s about to be bombed in an effort to get civilians out before they are hit.
By using an aircraft and other intelligence assets to keep watch, the United States began to formulate a plan to get women, children and other civilians out of the building. Air Force Maj. Gen. Peter E. Gersten, Deputy Commander for Operations and Intelligence for the anti-ISIS Operation Inherent Resolve, used this method in the Gaza attacks in recent years to warn civilians to leave before they are hit.
Gersten emphasizes that ISIS is currently having problems among its fighters due to the shortage of cash after more than a dozen airstrikes against their money centers. He also notes that the number of foreign fighters coming into Syria and Iraq has now dropped to about 200 a month in comparison to more than 1,500 a month last year, however, several reasons may include lack of morale and stronger border controls.