U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, conducting 29 strikes consisting of 38 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 23 strikes consisting of 23 engagements against ISIS targets:
-- Near Abu Kamal, two strikes destroyed six ISIS oil stills, three pieces of oil equipment and two oil tankers.
-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, a strike destroyed six ISIS oil stills.
-- Near Raqqa, 20 strikes engaged 16 ISIS tactical units and destroyed 17 fighting positions, a logistics node, an improvised explosive device, a command-and-control node, an ISIS unmanned aerial system and a vehicle.
Strikes in Iraq
In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted six strikes consisting of 15 engagements against ISIS targets:
-- Near Kisik, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed six ISIS-held buildings, three mortar systems and a staging area.
-- Near Rawah, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle and a staging area.
-- Near Tal Afar, a strike destroyed two ISIS headquarters and damaged a bridge.
-- Near Tuz, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit.
Aug. 15 Strikes
Additionally, 41 strikes consisting of 63 engagements were conducted in Syria and Iraq on Aug. 15 that closed within the last 24 hours.
-- Near Raqqa, Syria, 37 strikes engaged 27 ISIS tactical units and destroyed 36 fighting positions, four IEDs, three ISIS communication lines, two command-and-control nodes, an IED factory, a heavy machine gun and a vehicle.
-- Near Qaim, Iraq, two strikes destroyed two ISIS headquarters.
-- Near Tal Afar, Iraq, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit, destroyed an ISIS headquarters and damaged a bridge.
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.