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
Bomber, attack, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted nine strikes in Syria:
-- Near Abu Kamal, a strike destroyed two ISIL pump jacks.
-- Near Al Shadaddi, a strike destroyed an ISIL fighting position.
-- Near Ar Raqqah, a strike destroyed two ISIL pump jacks.
-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, a strike destroyed five ISIL tanker trucks.
-- Near Manbij, two strikes engaged two separate ISIL tactical units, and destroyed a bed down location and a vehicle.
-- Near Mar’a, three strikes engaged two separate ISIL tactical units, and destroyed two fighting positions and a vehicle.
Strikes in Iraq
Attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted eight strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:
-- Near Al Baghdadi, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit, and destroyed a fighting position and an ammunitions cache.
-- Near Hit, a strike destroyed an ISIL vehicle.
-- Near Mosul, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit, and destroyed a vehicle bomb factory, and a vehicle.
-- Near Qayyarah, two strikes engaged two separate ISIL tactical units, and destroyed an assembly area, a front-end loader, and denied access to terrain.
-- Near Ramadi, a strike destroyed an ISIL vehicle bomb factory.
-- Near Sultan Abdallah, a strike destroyed an ISIL fighting position, a vehicle, six rocket systems, seven rocket rails, and suppressed a mortar position and denied access to terrain.
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 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, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.