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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.

Officials reported details of yesterday’s strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

Fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 11 strikes in Syria:

-- Near Raqqah, six strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two bomb-making facilities, two oil well heads, three pump jacks and a vehicle.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, three strikes destroyed an ISIL vehicle, two oil well heads and three oil tanker trucks. A supply route was damaged.

-- Near Manbij, a strike destroyed an ISIL vehicle and a heavy machine gun.

-- Near Mara, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed three fighting positions.

Strikes in Iraq

Attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted nine strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:

-- Near Baghdadi, a strike destroyed an ISIL rocket cache.

-- Near Kisik, two strikes suppressed two ISIL mortar positions.

-- Near Mosul, three strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two fighting positions, a rocket rail and a tunnel.

-- Near Qayyarah, a strike destroyed an ISIL chemical weapons factory.

-- Near Ramadi, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two mortar systems.

-- Near Sultan Abdallah, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed eight rocket rails, three rocket systems and 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 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 Syria include the United States, 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.

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