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 eight strikes in Syria:
-- Near Abu Kamal, two strikes destroyed 23 ISIL oil tanker trucks and four wellheads.
-- Near Raqqah, a strike produced inconclusive results.
-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, three strikes damaged nine supply routes.
-- Near Mara, two strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units and destroyed three mortar systems and two fighting positions.
Strikes in Iraq
Attack, bomber, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft and rocket artillery conducted 14 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:
-- Near Baghdadi, a strike destroyed an ISIL vehicle.
-- Near Qaim, a strike destroyed an ISIL vehicle bomb facility.
-- Near Albu Hayat, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle bomb.
-- Near Bashir, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle and an anti-air artillery system.
-- Near Kisik, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and suppressed a second tactical unit.
-- Near Mosul, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit.
-- Near Qayyarah, three strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units and destroyed six vehicles, six watercraft, two vehicle bombs and a heavy machine gun.
-- Near Ramadi, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and a staging area and destroyed a vehicle, a building, a mortar system, a fighting position, a fuel tanker and two rocket rails.
-- Near Sultan Abdallah, a strike destroyed two ISIL improvised weapons facilities.
-- Near Tal Afar, two strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units and destroyed two vehicles and a weapons cache.
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.