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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 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 17 strikes in Syria:

-- Near Abu Kamal, a strike destroyed an oil wellhead and a crane.

-- Near Raqqah, 12 strikes engaged five ISIL tactical units; destroyed six fighting positions, two oil storage tanks and an ISIL checkpoint; and damaged five supply routes, a bridge and a trench.

-- Near Ayn Isa, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a mortar system.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, a strike destroyed an oil wellhead, a drilling truck, a dump truck, and two oil tanker trucks.

-- Near Idlib, two strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units and destroyed two tactical vehicles.

Strikes in Iraq

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

-- Near Haditha, a strike destroyed an ISIL bunker.

-- Near Kisik, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an observation post and a weapons cache.

-- Near Mosul, six strikes engaged four ISIL tactical units; destroyed four mortars, five vehicle bombs, a heavy machine gun, a vehicle, an ISIL-held building, a pontoon bridge, and three vehicle bomb factories; disabled two bridges; damaged 31 supply routes; and suppressed six mortar teams.

-- Near Rawah, a strike destroyed two weapons storage facilities.

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.

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