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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.

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

Strikes in Syria

Attack, bomber, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 31 strikes consisting of 41 engagements in Syria:

-- Near Abu Kamal, three strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed five oil wellheads. 

-- Near Bab, six strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit; destroyed a fighting position and a tunnel system; and damaged seven ISIL-held buildings. 

-- Near Raqqa, 20 strikes engaged seven ISIL tactical units; destroyed eight fighting positions, four tunnel systems, three tunnels, two vehicle-borne bombs, two oil storage tanks, a vehicle-borne-bomb facility, an engineering equipment piece, an unmanned-aerial-vehicle storage site and a tactical vehicle; and damaged two supply routes.

-- Near Palmyra, two strikes destroyed four excavators, two vehicles, two vehicle-borne bombs, a dump truck, a bulldozer and a front-end loader.

Strikes in Iraq

Attack, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft and ground-based artillery conducted 12 strikes consisting of 51 engagements in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:

-- Near Rutbah, a strike destroyed a vehicle-borne bomb.

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

-- Near Mosul, nine strikes engaged six ISIL tactical units and two ISIL staging areas; destroyed 12 watercraft, eight cranes, seven engineering equipment pieces, five vehicles, four supply caches, two tunnels, two mortar systems, a front-end loader, a weapons cache, a fighting position, a tactical vehicle, a weapons facility and a vehicle-borne-bomb facility; and damaged nine supply routes.

-- Near Qayyarah, a strike damaged four 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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