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, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 10 strikes in Syria:
-- Near Abu Kamal, a strike struck an ISIL weapons factory.
-- Near Al Hawl, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.
-- Near Ar Raqqah, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.
-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL checkpoint.
-- Near Manbij, four strikes struck four separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed four ISIL vehicles.
-- Near Mar’a, a strike destroyed an ISIL staging area.
-- Near Washiyah, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position.
Strikes in Iraq
Rocket artillery and bomber, fighter, ground-attack, and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 20 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:
-- Near Baghdadi, eight strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit, two ISIL weapons storage facilities, and three ISIL bed down locations and destroyed three ISIL bunkers and denied ISIL access to terrain.
-- Near Qaim, a strike struck an ISIL bomb-making facility.
-- Near Beiji, a strike destroyed an ISIL fighting position and an ISIL bomb.
-- Near Fallujah, three strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL-used bridge, an ISIL fighting position, two ISIL heavy machine guns, an ISIL bunker, and an ISIL tunnel system.
-- Near Hit, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed four ISIL heavy machine guns and an ISIL recoilless rifle.
-- Near Kirkuk, a strike destroyed an ISIL command and control node and an ISIL-used bridge.
-- Near Mosul, three strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed two ISIL weapons caches, an ISIL check point, two ISIL vehicles, and an ISIL bomb.
-- Near Qayyarah, a strike destroyed two ISIL mortar systems.
-- Near Tal Afar, a strike produced inconclusive results.
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 they pose to Iraq, Syria, and the wider international community. The destruction of ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the group's ability to project terror and conduct operations.
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, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.