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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, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 18 strikes in Syria:

-- Near Abu Kamal, five strikes damaged 10 ISIL supply routes and destroyed two oil well heads.         

-- Near Shadaddi, four strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units and destroyed six fighting positions, two vehicles, a weapons cache and a front-end loader.     

-- Near Raqqah, two strikes destroyed an ISIL training compound, an oil well head, an oil pump jack and two oil storage tanks.    

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, a strike damaged five ISIL supply routes.     

-- Near Mara, six strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units, three fighting positions, two tunnels, two command-and-control nodes and a mortar system.

Strikes in Iraq

Attack, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft and rocket artillery conducted seven strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:

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

-- Near Mosul, two strikes destroyed eight ISIL fighting positions and damaged a tunnel entrance.          

-- Near Qayyarah, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle, a weapons cache and 29 watercraft.       

-- Near Ramadi, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and a staging area and destroyed a fighting position and a building.

-- Near Tal Afar, a strike damaged an ISIL tunnel.

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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