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 the latest strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.
Strikes in Syria
Attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 15 strikes in Syria:
-- Near Ayn Isa, three strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit, destroyed an ISIL-held building and damaged two supply routes.
-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes damaged a modular oil refinery and an excavator.
-- Near Palmyra, 10 strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed 14 tanks, three artillery systems, two ISIL-held buildings, two tactical vehicles and an air defense artillery system.
Strikes in Iraq
Fighter aircraft and rocket artillery conducted three strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:
-- Near Huwayjah, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL-held building.
-- Near Haditha, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL-held building and a vehicle.
-- Near Mosul, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit; destroyed five ISIL-held buildings, two fighting positions, a heavy machine gun, a bulldozer and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher; and suppressed three tactical units and a mortar.
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.