U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, conducting 31 strikes consisting of 57 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 31 strikes consisting of 43 engagements against ISIS targets:
-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, a strike destroyed six ISIS oil stills.
-- Near Raqqa, 27 strikes engaged 19 ISIS tactical units and destroyed 59 fighting positions, two heavy machine guns, a mortar system, an improvised explosive device and a logistics node.
-- Near Shadaddi, three strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units and destroyed five fighting positions and two command-and-control nodes.
Strikes in Iraq
In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted seven strikes consisting of 14 engagements against ISIS targets:
-- Near Beiji, two strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed a staging area and a weapons cache.
-- Near Kisik, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit, destroyed two IEDs and suppressed two mortar teams.
-- Near Qaim, two strikes destroyed an ISIS training camp and a staging area.
-- Near Tal Afar, two strikes destroyed nine ISIS roadblocks and two front-end loaders.
Previous Strikes
Additionally, 33 strikes consisting of 47 engagements were conducted in Syria and Iraq on Aug. 10-13 that closed within the last 24 hours.
-- On Aug. 10, near Abu Kamal, Syria, a strike destroyed four ISIS oil storage tanks, three oil stills and a piece of heavy machinery.
-- On Aug. 11, near Abu Kamal, Syria, a strike destroyed eight ISIS oil stills.
-- On Aug. 11, near Dayr Az Zawr, Syria, two strikes destroyed 11 ISIS oil stills and three oil barrels.
-- On Aug. 12, near Abu Kamal, Syria, two strikes destroyed six ISIS oil stills.
-- On Aug. 12, near Dayr Az Zawr, Syria, a strike destroyed 10 ISIS oil stills.
-- On Aug. 12, near Raqqa, Syria, a strike destroyed an ISIS fighting position.
-- On Aug. 13, near Abu Kamal, Syria, four strikes destroyed 11 pieces of ISIS oil equipment and three wellheads.
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.