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Inherent Resolve 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.

Officials reported details of yesterday’s strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

Attack, bomber and fighter aircraft conducted 22 strikes consisting of 28 engagements in Syria:

-- Near Abu Kamal, two strikes destroyed two oil wellheads.

-- Near Raqqa, 16 strikes engaged six ISIL tactical units; destroyed six fighting positions, two supply caches, an oil wellhead and a mortar system; damaged two supply routes; and suppressed five ISIL tactical units.

-- Near Tanf, a strike destroyed two fighting positions.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, three strikes destroyed two oil refinement stills, an oil wellhead and an oil storage tank.

Strikes in Iraq

Attack, bomber, fighter and rotary aircraft conducted four strikes consisting of 21 engagements in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:

-- Near Kirkuk, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL-held building and a supply cache.

-- Near Kisik, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and damaged two vehicles.

-- Near Mosul, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit; destroyed 29 watercraft, three fighting positions, two vehicles, a mortar system, a light machine gun and an anti-air artillery system; and damaged eight supply routes.

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 it poses to Iraq, Syria, the region and the wider international community. The destruction of targets in Syria and Iraq further limits ISIL'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, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.

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