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Counter-ISIL Strikes Continue 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.

Strikes in Syria

Attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 27 strikes in Syria:

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

-- Near Raqqa, 12 strikes engaged eight ISIL tactical units, damaged two supply routes, and destroyed 14 oil refinement tanks, seven fighting positions, a vehicle bomb facility, a vehicle bomb, an ISIL-held building, an artillery system, and a bunker system.

-- Near Ayn Isa, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a fighting position and an artillery system. 

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, nine strikes destroyed 18 oil refinement stills, 15 oil pump jacks, and an oil well head.

-- Near Idlib, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit. 

-- Near Manbij, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a command and control node. 

Strikes in Iraq

Attack, bomber, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft, as well as rocket artillery conducted 11 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:

-- Near Huwayjah, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed four vehicles, two mortar systems, and a watercraft. 

-- Near Haditha, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL-held buildings and a weapons cache. 

-- Near Mosul, six strikes engaged five ISIL tactical units, damaged 21 supply routes, suppressed five tactical units, and destroyed six fighting positions, two vehicle bombs, two ISIL-held buildings, two heavy machine guns, two weapons caches, a roadside bomb, a mortar system, a homemade explosives facility, an ISIL headquarters building, a supply cache, and a mobile artillery system.

-- Near Rawah, a strike destroyed an ISIL-held building.

-- Near Tal Afar, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit, suppressed a mortar position, and destroyed three vehicles, an armored vehicle, and a vehicle bomb.

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

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