U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.
Officials reported details of yesterday’s strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.
Strikes in Syria
Attack, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 12 strikes in Syria:
-- Near Shadaddi, two strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units and destroyed two vehicles.
-- Near Raqqah, two strikes destroyed three oil wellheads, two oil pumpjacks, two oil refinement equipment pieces, an oil tank and construction equipment.
-- Near Ayn Isa, three strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units and destroyed four fighting positions and a mortar system.
-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle, construction equipment and an oil rig.
-- Near Manbij, three strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a fighting position and a vehicle.
Strikes in Iraq
Attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft, and rocket artillery conducted nine strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:
-- Near Huwayjah, a strike destroyed a vehicle bomb-making facility.
-- Near Beiji, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL-held building.
-- Near Mosul, six strikes engaged four ISIL tactical units, destroying five mortar systems, three ISIL-held buildings, three vehicles, three vehicle bombs, two front-end loaders, a vehicle bomb factory and a command-and-control node. Three tactical units were suppressed, and five supply routes and two pieces of road construction equipment were damaged.
-- Near Rawah, a strike destroyed a bunker.
Task force officials define a strike as one or more kinetic events that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single, sometimes cumulative, effect. Therefore, officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIL vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against buildings, vehicles and weapon systems in a compound, for example, having the cumulative effect of making those targets harder or impossible for ISIL to use. Accordingly, officials said, they do 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. Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike.
Part of Operation Inherent Resolve
The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the ISIL terrorist group and the threat it poses to Iraq, Syria, the region and the wider international community. The destruction of targets in Syria and Iraq further limits ISIL's ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said.
Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Syria include the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.