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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, conducting 23 strikes consisting of 84 engagements, 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

In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 17 strikes consisting of 20 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Abu Kamal, two strikes destroyed an ISIS pump jack and an ISIS wellhead.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, five strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed three ISIS fuel trucks, two ISIS wellheads, and an ISIS pump jack.

-- Near Raqqa, nine strikes engaged seven ISIS tactical units and destroyed three vehicles, two fighting positions and an artillery system.

-- Near Tabqah, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a fighting position.

Strikes in Iraq

In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted six strikes consisting of 64 engagements against ISIS targets:

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

-- Near Mosul, four strikes engaged five ISIS tactical units and a sniper; destroyed 12 fighting positions, five vehicles, two mortar systems, two rocket-propelled grenade systems, two heavy machine guns, two anti-air artillery systems, two vehicle bombs, and a weapons storage facility; damaged ten ISIS supply routes, a fighting position, and a vehicle bomb facility; and suppressed two ISIS tactical units.

-- Near Rawah, a strike destroyed an ISIS command-and-control node.

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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