An official website of the United States Government 
Here's how you know

Official websites use .gov

.gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS

A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Officials Provide Details of Latest Counter-ISIS Strikes in Syria, Iraq

You have accessed part of a historical collection on defense.gov. Some of the information contained within may be outdated and links may not function. Please contact the DOD Webmaster with any questions.

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.

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 yesterday’s strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

Coalition military forces conducted 34 strikes consisting of 35 engagements in Syria:

-- Near Abu Kamal, five strikes destroyed seven oil tanker trucks, three oil refinement stills and two oil wellheads.

-- Near Bab, a strike destroyed a decoy tactical vehicle.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, 11 strikes destroyed 20 oil tanker trucks, six oil wellheads, two artillery systems, an oil storage tank and a crane.

-- Near Raqqa, 17 strikes engaged two ISIS staging areas and an ISIS tactical unit; and destroyed four tunnels, three fighting positions, three ISIS-held buildings, two weapons storage areas, two ISIS headquarters, a vehicle bomb storage facility, a fuel station and a bridge.

Strikes in Iraq

Coalition military forces conducted seven strikes consisting of 27 engagements in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:

-- Near Kisik, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit.

-- Near Mosul, three strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units; destroyed four watercraft, three front-end loaders, two shipping containers, a mortar system, an artillery system, a vehicle bomb facility, a vehicle and an ISIS-held building; damaged 11 supply routes and a tunnel; and suppressed a mortar team and an artillery team.

-- Near Tal Afar, three strikes destroyed an improvised bomb facility, a weapons storage facility and a fuel storage area.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

These strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to destroy ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The destruction of ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria also further limits the group's ability to project terror and conduct external operations throughout the region and the rest of the world, task force officials said. 

The list above contains all strikes conducted by fighter, attack, bomber, rotary-wing or remotely piloted aircraft; rocket-propelled artillery; and some ground-based tactical artillery when fired on planned targets, officials noted.

Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike, they added. A strike, as defined by the coalition, refers to one or more kinetic engagements that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single or cumulative effect. For example, task force 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 a group of ISIS-held buildings and weapon systems in a compound, having the cumulative effect of making that facility harder or impossible to use. Strike assessments are based on initial reports and may be refined, officials said.

The task force does 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.

Related Stories