U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, conducting 25 strikes consisting of 85 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 17 strikes consisting of 31 engagements against ISIS targets:
-- Near Abu Kamal, a strike destroyed an ISIS wellhead.
-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, a strike destroyed an ISIS wellhead.
-- Near Raqqah, 15 strikes engaged 10 ISIS tactical units; destroyed seven fighting positions, three mortar systems, two sections of wall, two vehicles, an anti-air artillery system, a heavy machine gun, and an explosives cache; damaged five ISIS supply routes; and suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.
Strikes in Iraq
In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted eight strikes consisting of 54 engagements against ISIS targets:
-- Near Al Huwayjah, a strike destroyed three car bomb storage facilities.
-- Near Al Qaim, two strikes destroyed two oil storage tanks and an ISIS command and control node.
-- Near Kirkuk, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle, a staging area and a supply cache.
-- Near Mosul, two strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units; destroyed 21 fighting positions, six medium machine guns, three rocket-propelled grenade systems, and an artillery system; and damaged five fighting positions.
-- Near Rawah, two strikes destroyed a mortar system.
Previously Unreported
Additionally, nine previously unreported strikes were conducted in Syria and Iraq on July 2.
-- Near Al Shadaddi, Syria, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed four ISIS-held buildings and a command and control node.
-- Near Raqqah, four strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit; destroyed two car bombs, an ISIS communications tower, and a fighting position; and damaged 32 fighting positions.
-- Near Kisik, Iraq, a strike destroyed a vehicle and suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.
-- Near Mosul, Iraq, three strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units; destroyed seven medium machine guns, five fighting positions, five roadside bombs, and a weapons cache; damaged two fighting positions; and suppressed a sniper team.
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.