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,
fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted six strikes in Syria:
-- Near Ayn
Isa, one strike struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL
fighting positions.
-- Near
Manbij, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL
checkpoint and an ISIL bunker.
-- Near Mar’a,
three strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle bomb,
an ISIL fighting position, and an ISIL staging area.
Strikes in Iraq
Attack,
bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 11 strikes in Iraq, coordinated
with and in support of Iraq’s government:
-- Near Qaim,
three strikes struck an ISIL headquarters, an ISIL improvised explosive device
facility, and an ISIL vehicle bomb facility.
- Near Hit,
one strike destroyed two ISIL-used bridges.
-- Near Kisik,
one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL mortar position.
-- Near
Ramadi, five strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed
three ISIL tactical vehicles, two ISIL vehicles, nine ISIL staging areas, five
ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL heavy machine gun, three ISIL bed down
locations, cratered eight ISIL-used roads, and denied ISIL access to terrain.
-- Near
Sinjar, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting
position.
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, 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 conducting strikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia,
Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United
Kingdom. Coalition nations conducting strikes in Syria include the United
States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United
Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.