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Inherent Resolve Strikes Target ISIS in Syria, Iraq

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U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria 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.

U.S. Central Command continues to work with partner nations to conduct targeted airstrikes in Iraq and Syria as part of the comprehensive strategy to degrade and defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS.
Operation Inherent Resolve - Targeted Operations Against ISIS Terrorists
U.S. Central Command continues to work with partner nations to conduct targeted airstrikes in Iraq and Syria as part of the comprehensive strategy to degrade and defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS.
Photo By: DoD Graphic
VIRIN: 170113-D-ZZ999-001

Strikes in Syria

Attack, bomber and fighter aircraft, as well as rocket artillery, conducted 18 strikes consisting of 21 engagements  in Syria:

-- Near Abu Kamal, a strike destroyed an oil pump jack.

-- Near Raqqa, 15 strikes engaged nine ISIS tactical units; destroyed 13 fighting positions, a tactical vehicle and an ISIS headquarters; damaged three supply routes and a bridge; and suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes destroyed nine oil tanker trucks and two oil pump jacks and damaged on oil wellhead.

Strikes in Iraq

Fighter and rotary aircraft, as well as artillery, conducted eight strikes consisting of 27 engagements in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:

-- Near Mosul, three strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units; destroyed four watercraft, three front-end loaders and a mortar system; damaged nine supply routes; and suppressed eight ISIS mortar teams.

-- Near Rawah, three strikes damaged three supply routes.

-- Near Sinjar, a strike destroyed an ISIS fighting position.

-- Near Tal Afar, a strike destroyed a front-end loader.

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 ISIS 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 ISIS 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 ISIS 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 ISIS' 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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