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Military Strikes Continue Against ISIS Terrorists 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.

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

In Syria, coalition military forces conducted five strikes consisting of eight engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, a strike destroyed an oil refinement still and work rig.

-- Near Raqqa, four strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed two fighting positions and an ISIS headquarters.

Strikes in Iraq

In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted eight strikes consisting of 82 engagements against ISIS targets, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:

-- Near Mosul, six strikes engaged six ISIS tactical units, an ISIS staging area and an ISIS sniper team; destroyed 16 fighting positions, five vehicle bombs, four mortar systems, two rocket-propelled grenade systems, two supply caches, two vehicle bomb factories and a vehicle; damaged 22 supply routes; and suppressed 14 ISIS mortar teams, two ISIS tactical units and an ISIS sniper team.

-- Near Tal Afar, two strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed six ISIS-held buildings, two weapons caches and a bunker.

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.

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