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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 43 strikes consisting of 83 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 33 strikes consisting of 44 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Abu Kamal, three strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed three ISIS oil tanks and two ISIS oil trucks.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, five strikes destroyed seven ISIS oil trucks, four ISIS oil tanks, a front-end loader, an ISIS oil pump and an ISIS wellhead.

-- Near Raqqa, 25 strikes engaged 21 ISIS tactical units and destroyed 34 fighting positions, three tunnels, three mortar systems, two vehicles and a vehicle bomb-making facility.

Strikes in Iraq

In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 10 strikes consisting of 39 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Kisik, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a mortar team.

-- Near Mosul, three strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units; destroyed 15 fighting positions, two supply caches, a mortar team, and a vehicle bomb; damaged seven fighting positions; and suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.

-- Near Rawah, two strikes destroyed an ISIS fuel point, an ISIS staging area and a vehicle bomb-making facility.

-- Near Samarra, two strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed a vehicle and a command-and-control node.

-- Near Tal Afar, two strikes destroyed an ISIS staging area and a tactical vehicle.

June 15 Strikes

Additionally, seven strikes were conducted in Syria and Iraq on June 15 that closed within the last 24 hours:

-- Near Raqqa, Syria, on June 15 six strikes destroyed eight fighting positions, an ISIS headquarters and a tunnel, and suppressed two snipers.

-- Near Mosul, Iraq, a June 15 strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and a sniper, destroyed three vehicles, and damaged five ISIS supply routes.

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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