U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Iraq and Syria yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.
Strikes in Syria
Attack, bomber, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 11 strikes in Syria:
-- Near Abu Kamal, a strike destroyed six ISIL oil wellheads.
-- Near Ayn Isa, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.
-- Near Manbij, eight strikes struck seven separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed eight ISIL fighting positions and an ISIL vehicle.
-- Near Washiyah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.
Strikes in Iraq
Fighter, attack, ground-attack and remotely piloted aircraft and rocket artillery conducted 11 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:
-- Near Qaim, a strike destroyed an ISIL vehicle bomb factory.
-- Near Beiji, a strike destroyed an ISIL fighting position and an ISIL trench.
-- Near Mosul, a strike struck an ISIL bomb factory.
-- Near Qayyarah, three strikes destroyed an ISIL excavator, an ISIL aircraft hangar, two ISIL vehicles, 18 ISIL rocket rails, 11 ISIL rockets, an ISIL boat and an ISIL checkpoint.
-- Near Ramadi, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL fighting position and an ISIL vehicle.
-- Near Sinjar, a strike suppressed ISIL rocket fire.
-- Near Sultan Abdallah, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed five ISIL weapons caches, two ISIL tunnels and four ISIL assembly areas.
Additionally, a strike near Manbij in Syria on July 3 was not included in the July 4 strike release. That strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.
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 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.