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.
Officials reported details of the latest strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.
Strikes in Syria
Attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 13 strikes in Syria:
-- Near Abu Kamal, two strikes destroyed an oil rig and an oil wellhead.
-- Near Raqqah, seven strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units and destroyed 2 vehicle bombs, an improvised explosive device factory, two oil wellheads and two oil tanker trucks.
-- Near Ayn Isa, three strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units and destroyed a vehicle, and a mortar position.
-- Near Manbij, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit.
Strikes in Iraq
Attack, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 11 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:
-- Near Qaim, two strikes destroyed an ISIL-held building and a vehicle bomb factory.
-- Near Bayji, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two vehicles and a bunker.
-- Near Kisik, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle.
-- Near Mosul, six strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units; destroyed six boats, four vehicles, three ISIL-held buildings, three vehicle bombs, two mortar systems and a vehicle bomb facility; damaged two supply routes; and suppressed two artillery pieces.
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 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.