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Officials Provide Details of Latest Counter-ISIL Strikes 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 Iraq and Syria 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 14 strikes in 28 engagements in Syria:

-- Near Abu Kamal, two strikes destroyed 23 oil storage tanks, two oil tanker trucks and an oil wellhead.

-- Near Raqqa, 10 strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units; destroyed five tunnels, three vehicles, two mortar systems and a fighting position; and damaged three supply routes.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, a strike destroyed an oil wellhead.

-- Near Palmyra, a strike destroyed a vehicle bomb factory

Strikes in Iraq

Fighter and remotely piloted aircraft and artillery conducted nine strikes in 34 engagements in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:

-- Near Kisik, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a supply cache.

-- Near Mosul, four strikes, engaged an ISIL tactical unit and an ISIL mortar team; destroyed a vehicle and a vehicle bomb; damaged eight supply routes; and suppressed 15 mortar teams.

-- Near Qayyarah, two strikes destroyed a weapons cache and damaged four supply routes.

-- Near Qaim, two strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units and destroyed three vehicles.

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 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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