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Counter-ISIL Strikes Hit Terrorists 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.

Operation Inherent Resolve - Targeted Operations Against ISIL Terrorists
Operation Inherent Resolve
Operation Inherent Resolve - Targeted Operations Against ISIL Terrorists
Photo By: DoD Graphic
VIRIN: 160401-D-XT155-002

Officials reported details of the latest strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

Attack and remotely piloted aircraft conducted five strikes in Syria:

-- Near Raqqah, two strikes damaged an ISIL weapons cache and destroyed another.

-- Near Mara, three strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units, destroying seven fighting positions and a weapons cache.

Strikes in Iraq

Fighter and remotely piloted aircraft and rocket artillery conducted nine strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:

-- Near Albu Hayat, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a communications antenna.

-- Near Rutbah, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit.

-- Near Haditha, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a building.

-- Near Hit, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a building and a bunker.

-- Near Kisik, a strike damaged two ISIL tunnels.

-- Near Qayyarah, a strike destroyed two ISIL weapons caches.

-- Near Ramadi, a strike destroyed an ISIL mortar tube and a vehicle.

-- Near Sinjar, a strike destroyed an ISIL security headquarters building.

-- Near Tal Afar, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle.

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 they pose to Iraq, Syria, and the wider international community. The destruction of ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the terrorist group'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, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.

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