Ten years ago, on 24 September 2014, Belgium announced its participation in the US-led coalition to combat the terrorist group Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria and Iraq.
Belgium’s involvement, codenamed ‘Operation Desert Falcon,’ included deploying six F-16 fighter jets to Jordan. The operation unfolded in three phases over seven years.
The US launched the Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF – OIR) in 2014 to curb the advance of Daesh (the Arabic acronym for ISIS). By late 2014, the Sunni terrorist group had reached its territorial peak, controlling major cities in Syria and Iraq, including Raqqa, Fallujah, and Mosul.
International coalition grows to 87 countries
Initially, 22 countries joined the international coalition, but that number eventually grew to 87. Besides key European armies, Australia, Canada, and various Arab nations like Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates were involved.
The Belgian operation, named after the F-16’s nickname ‘Fighting Falcon’ and the desert environment, had three objectives. It aimed to secure airspace, gather tactical enemy information, and strike ground targets.
The first 120 Belgian soldiers were based at Mufaq Salti Airbase, near Azraq, about 100 kilometres from Jordan’s capital, Amman. Jordanian, Dutch, and US troops were also stationed there.
Belgians return in 2016
Due to budgetary reasons, the first phase of the operation ended in July 2015. Under ‘Force Protection,’ Belgium and the Netherlands took turns securing the aircraft and personnel, leaving 33 Belgian soldiers in place. Another 23 soldiers remained near Baghdad for ‘Operation Valiant Phoenix,’ training Iraqi security forces.
In July 2016, the Belgians returned to Jordan, replacing Dutch fighter jets and taking over ‘Force Protection.’ The Belgian government approved the deployment of its aircraft in Syria at the request of the US.
In October 2016, Russia accused Belgium of killing six civilians in a bombing in Syria’s Aleppo province, citing two Belgian F-16s active in the area. Belgium’s Defence Ministry denied the allegations, calling it a ploy by Moscow to weaken the coalition. At the time, Moscow was being criticised by the West for supporting deadly attacks by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces.
A coalition air raid on Mosul on 17 March 2017 killed 105 civilians, marking the coalition’s biggest blunder. Defence Minister Steven Vandeput stated that no Belgian F-16s were involved. The F-16s returned after Belgium’s second participation in December 2017.
Third stint in Azraq
By July 2017, the Iraqi army, aided by the coalition, had reclaimed Mosul. The Syrian ISIS stronghold of Raqqa was freed in October 2017. Several countries, including Australia and Denmark, withdrew their air support. The Netherlands also pulled out their four F-16s from Azraq in January 2019.
ISIS fighters were then confined to an area near Baghouz, eastern Syria, which fell in March 2019 when the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) captured the city, ending the ISIS-declared caliphate.
Belgium participated in OIR for the third time in October 2020, sending 120 soldiers back to Azraq for a year to prevent an ISIS resurgence. The jihadist group continued terror operations and propaganda in prisons.
Belgium’s ‘Fighting Falcons’ took part in the anti-terror campaign for a total of 37 months: from October 2014 to mid-2015, July 2016 to December 2017, and October 2020 to September 2021. Belgian pilots conducted 1,291 missions, about 5% of all coalition air missions, dropping nearly 1,000 precision-guided bombs during 11,800 flight hours.
