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Inherent Resolve Strikes Target ISIS in Syria, Iraq

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U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, conducting 20 strikes consisting of 48 engagements, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

U.S. Central Command continues to work with partner nations to conduct targeted airstrikes in Iraq and Syria as part of the comprehensive strategy to degrade and defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS.
Operation Inherent Resolve - Targeted Operations Against ISIS Terrorists
U.S. Central Command continues to work with partner nations to conduct targeted airstrikes in Iraq and Syria as part of the comprehensive strategy to degrade and defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS.
Photo By: DoD Graphic
VIRIN: 170113-D-ZZ999-001

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 15 strikes consisting of 28 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Abu Kamal, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed 50 oil barrels, 12 oil refinement stills and one vehicle.

-- Near Shadaddi, two strikes destroyed three ISIS-held buildings, a weapons cache, a storage area and a vehicle bomb.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes destroyed five oil tanks, a front-end loader and a wellhead.

-- Near Raqqa, nine strikes engaged five ISIS tactical units; destroyed three ISIS communication towers, three fighting positions, a command-and-control node, a front-end loader and an artillery system; and damaged three supply routes.

Strikes in Iraq

In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted five strikes consisting of 20 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Beiji, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed two ISIS-held buildings, a bunker and a vehicle.

-- Near Kirkuk, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a supply cache.

-- Near Mosul, two strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units, destroyed 22 fighting positions and a tunnel, and damaged three fighting positions.

July 10-12 Strikes

Additionally, 21 strikes were conducted in Syria and Iraq on July 10-12 that closed within the last 24 hours:

-- On July 10, near Raqqa, Syria, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit: destroyed a fighting position: and suppressed 21 fighting positions.

-- On July 11, near Raqqa, Syria, a strike destroyed an ISIS vehicle bomb and a command-and-control node; and suppressed six fighting positions.

-- On July 12, near Abu Kamal, Syria, a strike destroyed two ISIS oil trucks.

-- On July 12, near Shadaddi, Syria, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit; and destroyed three ISIS-held buildings and two command-and-control nodes.

-- On July 12, near Dayr Az Zawr, Syria, two strikes destroyed two ISIS bomb-making factories.

-- On July 12, near Mosul, Iraq, two strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed a fighting position.

-- On July 12, near Raqqa, Syria, 12 strikes engaged five ISIS tactical units and destroyed four fighting positions, four IEDs, three ISIS communication towers, a vehicle bomb and a vehicle bomb-making factory.

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.

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