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 14 strikes in Syria:
-- Near Abu Kamal, four strikes destroyed three ISIL oil-well heads, six supply routes and an oil pump jack.
-- Near Shadaddi, two strikes destroyed two ISIL front-end loaders.
-- Near Ayn Isa, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle.
-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes destroyed four ISIL oil collection pools, three oil well heads and two vehicles.
-- Near Mara, five strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units, destroying three fighting positions and a mortar system. A heavy machine gun firing position was suppressed.
Strikes in Iraq
Attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 14 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:
-- Near Hit, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit.
-- Near Kisik, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit, destroying a vehicle, a tunnel and a weapons cache. A mortar firing position was suppressed.
-- Near Mosul, six strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit, destroying three fighting positions, an oil tanker truck, an ISIL-held building, an explosives cache, a weapons cache, a command-and-control node and a vehicle. An oil tanker truck was damaged.
-- Near Qayyarah, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit, destroying an ISIL-held building. A repeater tower power generator was damaged.
-- Near Ramadi, three strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit, destroying a tractor, a vehicle, a vehicle bomb, a supply cache, a tunnel and an ISIL-held building. A second ISIL-held building was damaged.
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.