U.S. and coalition military forces have continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.
Officials reported details of the latest strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.
Strikes in Syria
Attack and remotely piloted aircraft conducted three strikes in Syria:
-- Near Abu Kamal, a strike destroyed an ISIL vehicle.
-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, a strike cratered road ISIL uses.
-- Near Raqqah, a strike destroyed an ISIL crane.
Strikes in Iraq
Attack, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 17 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:
-- Near Baghdadi, a strike destroyed four ISIL rocket rails.
-- Near Albu Hayat, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.
-- Near Fallujah, a strike denied ISIL access to terrain.
-- Near Habbaniyah, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL front-end loader.
-- Near Makhmur, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed three ISIL fighting positions.
-- Near Mosul, five strikes struck three ISIL tactical units and destroyed 11 ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL excavator and an ISIL vehicle.
-- Near Ramadi, four strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units, destroying four ISIL staging areas and an ISIL bed down location and suppressing an ISIL fighting position.
-- Near Sinjar, two strikes destroyed eight ISIL fighting positions.
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.
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, the region, 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 Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States. Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Syria include Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.