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 the latest strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.
Strikes in Syria
Attack, bomber and fighter aircraft conducted 10 strikes in Syria:
-- Near Abu Kamal, seven strikes destroyed 21 ISIL supply routes, an oil well head and two oil tanker trucks.
-- Near Dayz Az Zawr, a strike destroyed an ISIL oil well head and an oil tanker truck.
-- Near Mara, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two fighting positions and a mortar system.
Strikes in Iraq
Attack, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 10 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:
-- Near Huwayjah, two strikes engaged an ISIL chemical weapons storage facility and destroyed a rocket system, a rocket rail and a mortar system.
-- Near Qaim, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a building.
-- Near Mosul, a strike engaged an ISIL bomb factory.
-- Near Qayyarah, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed three mortar systems, a fighting position, four rocket rails, a tunnel and inoperable coalition equipment.
-- Near Sinjar, a strike destroyed an ISIL tractor trailer, a front-end loader and a fighting position.
-- Near Sultan Abdallah, four strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit, two headquarters buildings and a vehicle bomb factory. Twenty-five watercraft, a headquarters building and the vehicle bomb factory were destroyed. A mortar position was suppressed.
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 Syria include Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.