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 Some of the information contained within may be outdated and links may not function.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, conducting 45 strikes consisting of 91 engagements, 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

In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 37 strikes consisting of 39 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Abu Kamal, 10 strikes destroyed 16 ISIS oil equipment items, five ISIS storage tanks, four ISIS well heads and three ISIS oil pumps.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, three strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit; and destroyed three storage tanks and three well heads.

-- Near Al Shadadi, a strike destroyed a weapons cache.

-- Near Raqqah, 15 strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units and destroyed a fighting position, an ISIS bridge, a command and control node, and a mortar system.

-- Near Tabqah, eight strikes engaged five ISIS tactical units and destroyed three fighting positions, an ISIS vehicle and a command and control node.

Additionally, nine newly reported strikes were conducted in Syria April 19-20.

-- April 19: Near Raqqah, eight strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit; destroyed four fighting positions and a car bomb factory; and damaged four ISIS supply routes.

-- April 20: Near Tabqah, a strike destroyed a command and control node.

Strikes in Iraq

In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted eight strikes consisting of 52 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Mosul, seven strikes engaged eight ISIS tactical units; destroyed six fighting positions, two car bombs, two mortar systems, two tactical vehicles, a weapons cache, a front-end loader, a rocket-propelled grenade system and an ISIS warehouse; damaged 22 ISIS supply routes and two fighting positions; and suppressed an ISIS tactical unit and rocket team.

-- Near Tal Afar, a strike destroyed a tactical vehicle and a weapons cache.

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