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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.

Operation Inherent Resolve - Targeted Operations Against ISIL Terrorists
Operation Inherent Resolve
Operation Inherent Resolve - Targeted Operations Against ISIL Terrorists
Photo By: DoD Graphic
VIRIN: 160401-D-XT155-002

Officials reported details of the latest strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

Attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 13 strikes in Syria:

-- Near Abu Kamal, a strike engaged an ISIL supply route.

-- Near Shadaddi, six strikes engaged six ISIL tactical units and destroyed four fighting positions, two supply caches and a vehicle.

-- Near Ayn Isa, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a fighting position.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, four strikes destroyed seven ISIL oil wellheads.

-- Near Palmyra, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two vehicles.

Strikes in Iraq

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

-- Near Rutbah, a strike destroyed an ISIL vehicle.

-- Near Kisik, a strike engaged an ISIL staging area and destroyed two tunnels.

-- Near Mosul, five strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and a chemical weapons facility, destroying three tunnel entrances, a tunnel, a rocket rail, a vehicle and a trench. A a trench network was damaged.

-- Near Sultan Abdallah, two strikes engaged an ISIL weapons factory and destroyed two boats.

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 the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, 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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