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Officials Provide Details of Latest Counter-ISIL Strikes in Syria, Iraq

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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.

Operation Inherent Resolve - Targeted Operations Against ISIL Terrorists
Operation Inherent Resolve
Operation Inherent Resolve - Targeted Operations Against ISIL Terrorists
Photo By: DoD Graphic
VIRIN: 160401-D-XT155-002

Strikes in Syria

Attack, bomber, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 10 strikes in Syria:

-- Near Abu Kamal, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit, damaged a supply route and destroyed a vehicle.

-- Near Shadaddi, two strikes damaged two ISIL supply routes.

-- Near Ayn Isa, four strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units and damaged two fighting positions, a vehicle and a supply route.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes destroyed six oil tanker trucks and three oil wellheads.

Strikes in Iraq

Rocket artillery and fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 12 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:

-- Near Huwayjah, a strike destroyed an anti-aircraft artillery system.

-- Near Haditha, two strikes destroyed three bunkers.

-- Near Mosul, eight strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units; destroyed three vehicle-borne bombs, three mortar systems, two vehicles, two ISIL-held buildings, a weapons cache, an anti-aircraft artillery system, a front-end loader, a vehicle-bomb facility and a command-and-control node; damaged a supply route and two tunnels; and suppressed a tank.

-- Near Rawah, a strike destroyed an ISIL armored personnel carrier.

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 it poses to Iraq, Syria, the region and the wider international community. The destruction of targets in Syria and Iraq further limits ISIL's ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said.

Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Syria include the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

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