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Military Strikes Target ISIL 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.

Operation Inherent Resolve - Targeted Operations Against ISIL Terrorists
Operation Inherent Resolve
Operation Inherent Resolve - Targeted Operations Against ISIL Terrorists
Photo By: DoD Graphic
VIRIN: 160401-D-XT155-002

Officials reported details of the latest strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

Attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 13 strikes in Syria:

-- Near Shadaddi, three strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units and destroyed two fighting positions, a mortar system and a vehicle.

-- Near Raqqah, two strikes engaged an ISIL supply route and destroyed an oil wellhead, an oil collection tank and an oil pumpjack.

-- Near Ayn Isa, a strike engaged an ISIL headquarters building.

-- Near Manbij, six strikes engaged four ISIL tactical units and destroyed three fighting positions, two vehicles and a vehicle bomb.

-- Near Mara, a strike destroyed an artillery system.

Strikes in Iraq

Attack, bomber, fighter, remotely piloted aircraft and rocket artillery conducted seven strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:

-- Near Mosul, four strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units and two staging areas, destroying an ISIL headquarters building, 23 fighting positions, eight ISIL vehicle bombs, six ISIL-held buildings, six vehicles, five mortar systems, three heavy machine guns, a tanker truck and a command-and-control node. A vehicle bomb was damaged. Nine heavy machine gun positions, five sniper positions, four mortar positions, an artillery system position and 11 ISIL tactical units were suppressed.

-- Near Rawah, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit.

-- Near Sultan Abdallah, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle bomb, a vehicle and an ISIL-held building.

-- Near Tal Afar, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two checkpoints.

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 they pose to Iraq, Syria, and the wider international community. The destruction of ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the terrorist group'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, 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.

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