U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, conducting 29 strikes consisting of 40 engagements, 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
In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 22 strikes consisting of 28 engagements against ISIS targets:
-- Near Abu Kamal, two strikes destroyed 14 ISIS construction items and three oil storage tanks.
-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, 11 strikes destroyed 35 ISIS oil refinement stills, 14 construction items, 10 oil trucks, three oil storage tanks and three wellheads.
-- Near Raqqa, nine strikes engaged nine ISIS tactical units and destroyed seven fighting positons, an ISIS headquarters and a vehicle bomb.
Strikes in Iraq
In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted seven strikes consisting of 12 engagements against ISIS targets:
-- Near Baghdad, two strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed a supply cache.
-- Near Mosul, three strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units, destroyed a fighting position, damaged a fighting position, and suppressed a mortar system.
-- Near Rawah, two strikes destroyed an ISIS-held building and a tactical vehicle.
July 5 Strikes
Additionally, six strikes were conducted in Syria and Iraq on July 5 that closed within the last 24 hours:
-- On July 5 near Kisik, Iraq, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and a sniper team.
-- On July 5 near Raqqa, Syria, five strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units and destroyed six fighting positions, a sniper position and a heavy machine gun.
Part of Operation Inherent Resolve
These strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to destroy ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The destruction of ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria also further limits the group's ability to project terror and conduct external operations throughout the region and the rest of the world, task force officials said.
The list above contains all strikes conducted by fighter, attack, bomber, rotary-wing or remotely piloted aircraft; rocket-propelled artillery; and some ground-based tactical artillery when fired on planned targets, officials noted.
Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike, they added. A strike, as defined by the coalition, refers to one or more kinetic engagements that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single or cumulative effect.
For example, task force officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIS vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against a group of ISIS-held buildings and weapon systems in a compound, having the cumulative effect of making that facility harder or impossible to use. Strike assessments are based on initial reports and may be refined, officials said.
The task force does 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.