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Officials Provide Details of Latest Strikes in Syria, Iraq

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U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and Syria terrorists yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

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

Officials reported details of the latest strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

Attack, bomber and fighter aircraft conducted 17 strikes in 21 engagements in Syria:

-- Near Abu Kamal, seven strikes destroyed seven oil refinement stills, five oil storage tanks and three oil wellheads.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, six strikes destroyed five oil pumpjacks, five oil wellheads, three oil storage tanks, two oil refinement stills and an oil tanker truck.

-- Near Raqqa, four strikes destroyed an ISIS headquarters and damaged two supply routes and a bridge.

Strikes in Iraq

Fighter aircraft and rocket artillery conducted five strikes in 21 engagements in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:

-- Near Kisik, two strikes damaged a tunnel.

-- Near Mosul, three strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit; destroyed three vehicle bomb facilities, two improvised explosive device facilities, a weapons facility, an ISIS-held building, an excavator, a supply cache and a command-and-control node; damaged five supply routes and a supply cache; and suppressed three mortar teams.

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 they pose to Iraq, Syria, and the wider international community. The destruction of ISIS targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the terrorist group'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, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.

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