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U.S., Coalition Continue Strikes Against ISIL 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, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 11 strikes in Syria:

-- Near Raqqah, a strike destroyed three ISIL cranes.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, a strike destroyed an ISIL tanker truck. 

-- Near Manbij, eight strikes engaged seven ISIL tactical units and destroyed two fighting positions, a logistical hub, a vehicle bomb, an anti-air artillery system, and two vehicles. 

-- Near Mar’a, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit. 

Strikes in Iraq

Coalition military forces used rocket artillery and fighter and remotely piloted aircraft to conduct eight strikes, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:

-- Near Hit, a strike destroyed two ISIL buildings and two vehicles.

-- Near Mosul, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and a financial storage center, and destroyed an assembly area, a command and control node, a rocket system, five rocket rails, two fighting positions, a bulldozer, and a vehicle. 

-- Near Ramadi, two strikes engaged two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed three buildings, two mortar caches, a vehicle, and a mortar system. 

-- Near Sultan Abdallah, two strikes engaged an ISIL weapons cache and a building. 

-- Near Tal Afar, a strike produced inconclusive results. 

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 a 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, the region, 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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