U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq yesterday, 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
Attack and bomber aircraft and rocket artillery conducted seven strikes in Syria:
-- Near Abu Kamal, a strike destroyed an ISIL oil wellhead and an oil pump jack.
-- Near Shadaddi, four strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units and destroyed three fighting positions and an anti-air artillery system.
-- Near Raqqah, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit.
-- Near Ayn Isa, a strike destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun.
Strikes in Iraq
Attack, bomber, fighter, rotary and remotely piloted conducted 11 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:
-- Near Rutbah, a strike destroyed five ISIL bunkers.
-- Near Kisik, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a tunnel.
-- Near Mosul, seven strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units; destroyed eight anti-air artillery systems, seven fighting positions, five tunnels, four mortar systems, three weapons caches, two vehicle-borne bombs, two vehicles, a vehicle-borne-bomb facility, a command-and-control node, a tunnel entrance, a heavy machine gun and an artillery system; and damaged two ISIL tunnels.
-- Near Rawah, a strike destroyed an ISIL bunker.
-- Near Sultan Abdallah, a strike destroyed an ISIL dump truck.
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 it poses to Iraq, Syria, the region and the wider international community. The destruction of targets in Syria and Iraq further limits ISIL'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, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.