U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in 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
Ground-attack and attack aircraft conducted two strikes in Syria:
-- Near Shadaddi, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.
-- Near Manbij, a strike stuck an ISIL tactical vehicle.
Strikes in Iraq
Ground-attack, fighter, bomber, and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 22 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:
-- Near Baghdadi, three strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL command and control node, five ISIL rocket rails, and an ISIL bunker.
-- Near Albu Hayat, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL vehicle bombs.
-- Near Bashir, a strike produced inconclusive results.
-- Near Beiji, a strike destroyed an ISIL fighting position.
-- Near Fallujah, a strike struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed three ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL supply cache, an ISIL tunnel entrance, two ISIL mortar systems, an ISIL-used bridge, and two ISIL rocket rails.
-- Near Hit, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position, two ISIL vehicles, three ISIL tactical vehicles, and an ISIL weapons cache.
-- Near Makhmur, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed three ISIL rocket rails and an ISIL assembly area.
-- Near Mosul, four strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed two ISIL assembly areas, two ISIL vehicle bombs, and an ISIL vehicle.
-- Near Qayyarah, three strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and an ISIL weapons-making facility and destroyed two ISIL vehicles, and an ISIL rocket rail.
-- Near Sinjar, a strike suppressed an ISIL mortar position.
-- Near Sultan Abdallah, a strike suppressed an ISIL mortar position.
-- Near Tal Afar, two strikes destroyed an ISIL excavator and suppressed an ISIL mortar 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. 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, the region, 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 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.