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Military Strikes Continue 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.

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 22 strikes in 30 engagements in Syria:

-- Near Al Bab, two strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units.

-- Near Ar Raqqah, 10 strikes engaged four ISIL tactical units; destroyed three tactical vehicles, three fighting positions, two vehicles, an ISIL headquarters, a tunnel system, and a weapons-storage facility.

-- Near Ayn Isa, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a fighting position.

-- Near Palmyra, nine strikes engaged seven ISIL staging areas and destroyed two tactical vehicles.

Strikes in Iraq

Attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft, as well as artillery and rocket artillery conducted 13 strikes consisting of 50 engagements in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:

-- Near Al Huwijah, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL-held building.

-- Near Kirkuk, two strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units; destroyed a logistic node and a vehicle.

-- Near Kisik, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit; destroyed an ISIL checkpoint, a supply cache, and a bunker.

-- Near Mosul, three strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units; destroyed seven front-end loaders, four watercraft, three mortar systems, two excavators, two supply caches, a vehicle, and a barge, damaged 32 supply routes; and suppressed a mortar team and a sniper team.

-- Near Qayyarah, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit; destroyed a UAV launch site, and damaged six supply routes.

-- Near Rawah, two strikes engaged an ISIL staging area and destroyed a vehicle bomb factory.

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

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, United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.

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