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Counter-ISIL Strikes Continue in Syria, Iraq

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U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq yesterday, 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

Attack and fighter aircraft conducted four strikes in Syria:

-- Near Abu Kamal, a strike destroyed an ISIL pump jack.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes destroyed 12 ISIL oil tankers and an ISIL oil storage tank.

-- Near Manbij, a strike destroyed an ISIL tactical vehicle.

Strikes in Iraq

Fighter aircraft conducted 10 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:

-- Near Baghdadi, a strike destroyed two ISIL communication towers.

-- Near Mosul, four strikes struck an ISIL vehicle-borne-bomb factory and three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed six ISIL assembly areas, an ISIL observation post, seven ISIL weapons caches, two ISIL command and control nodes and four ISIL vehicles.

-- Near Qayyarah, two strikes destroyed two ISIL command-and-control nodes and an ISIL vehicle-borne-bomb factory.

-- Near Ramadi, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed three ISIL fighting positions, two ISIL weapons caches and an ISIL mortar system and denied ISIL access to terrain.

-- Near Sinjar, a strike destroyed an ISIL fighting position and suppressed an ISIL mortar position.

Task force officials define a strike as one or more kinetic events that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single, sometimes cumulative, effect. Therefore, officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIL vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against buildings, vehicles and weapon systems in a compound, for example, having the cumulative effect of making those targets harder or impossible for ISIL to use. Accordingly, officials said, they do 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. Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the ISIL terrorist group and the threat it poses to Iraq, Syria, the region and the wider international community. The destruction of targets in Syria and Iraq further limits ISIL's ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said.

Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Syria include the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.

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