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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.

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

Fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 17 strikes consisting of 21 engagements in Syria:

-- Near Bab, three strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units and destroyed two mortar systems, a vehicle-borne bomb, a vehicle and a tunnel entrance.

-- Near Raqqa, 14 strikes engaged five ISIL tactical units; destroyed two fighting positions, two tunnel entrances, a tactical vehicle, a vehicle and an improvised explosive device; and damaged six supply routes.

Strikes in Iraq

Bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft, as well as artillery and rocket artillery, conducted 12 strikes consisting of 43 engagements in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:

-- Near Haditha, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit; destroyed two weapons caches, a fighting position and an ISIL-held building; and suppressed a mortar team.

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

-- Near Kisik, a strike engaged two ISIL tactical units and destroyed a supply cache and damaged a tunnel.

-- Near Mosul, six strikes engaged six ISIL tactical units; destroyed five watercraft, four vehicles, three excavators, three engineering equipment pieces, two ISIL-held buildings, a weapons cache, an ISIL headquarters, a front-end loader, a crane, a mortar system, a backhoe and a command-and-control node; damaged five supply routes; and suppressed six mortar teams.

-- Near Qayyarah, a strike damaged three supply routes.

-- Near Tuz, a strike damaged a supply route.

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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