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U.S., Coalition Continue Strikes Against 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 yesterday’s strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

Attack, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 17 strikes consisting of 28 engagements in Syria:

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

-- Near Ayn Isa, a strike destroyed a vehicle-borne bomb.

-- Near Palmyra, nine strikes destroyed 17 heavy-equipment vehicles, 11 vehicles, four dump trucks, three front-end loaders, three vehicle-borne bombs and two tanks.

-- Near Raqqa, six strikes destroyed three tunnels, a weapons facility, a vehicle and an oil wellhead.

Strikes in Iraq

Fighter aircraft and ground-based artillery conducted seven strikes consisting of 42 engagements in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:

-- Near Beiji, a strike destroyed two tactical vehicles.

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

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

-- Near Mosul, four strikes engaged four ISIL tactical units and an ISIL staging area; destroyed two watercraft, two supply caches, two weapons caches, a barge, a bunker, a dump truck, a front-end loader, a mortar system, a vehicle, a vehicle-borne-bomb facility and an anti-air artillery system; and damaged 16 supply routes and a tunnel.

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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