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Military Strikes Target ISIL 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.

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

Officials reported details of the latest strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

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

-- Near Raqqah, eight strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units; destroyed six oil storage tanks, two vehicle bombs and a technical vehicle; and damaged a supply route, a fighting position and a truck.

-- Near Ayn Isa, a strike damaged three ISIL supply routes.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, a strike destroyed an oil wellhead.

Strikes in Iraq

Attack, bomber, fighter, remotely piloted and rotary wing aircraft and rocket artillery conducted nine strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:

-- Near Bashir, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a tactical vehicle.

-- Near Haditha, a strike destroyed an ISIL vehicle bomb, two vehicles and a supply cache.

-- Near Mosul, five strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit; destroyed two vehicles, a building, two tunnels and an ISIL command and control headquarters; and damaged a supply route.

-- Near Rawah, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit, destroyed a building and suppressed a vehicle bomb.

-- Near Sinjar, a strike destroyed an ISIL tank.

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 Syria include the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, 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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