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Strikes Hit ISIL Terrorists in Syria, Iraq

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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 aircraft conducted two strikes in Syria:

-- Near Hawl, a strike destroyed two ISIL fighting positions.

-- Near Mar’a, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position.

Strikes in Iraq

Attack and fighter aircraft conducted 11 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:

-- Near Habbaniyah, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL tunnel entrances.

-- Near Haditha, a strike struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed three ISIL staging areas.

-- Near Hit, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL rocket rail.

-- Near Mosul, a strike destroyed two ISIL assembly areas.

-- Near Qayyarah, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL mortar positions, an ISIL supply cache, an ISIL vehicle, an ISIL fighting position, and denied ISIL access to terrain.

-- Near Sultan Abdallah, three strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL mortar position and two ISIL assembly areas and denied ISIL access to terrain.

-- Near Tal Afar, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.

-- Near Waleed, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.

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.

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 they pose to Iraq, Syria, and the wider international community. The destruction of ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the group's ability to project terror and conduct operations.

Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Syria include the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.

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