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 six strikes in Syria:
-- Near Abu Kamal, a strike destroyed six oil tanker trucks and an oil pump jack.
-- Near Raqqah, a strike destroyed two oil pump jacks.
-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes engaged four ISIL supply routes.
-- Near Manbij, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle.
-- Near Mara, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit.
Strikes in Iraq
Attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft and rocket artillery conducted 11 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:
-- Near Kisik, a strike destroyed an ISIL artillery system and a tunnel.
-- Near Mosul, four strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units, two staging areas, 12 assembly areas and a bridge; destroyed six tunnel entrances, five supply caches, four repeater-tower generators, four mortar systems, a repeater tower, four repeater antennas, four solar panels, two artillery systems, two vehicles, two tunnels and an anti-air artillery system, A trench tunnel network was damaged and three mortar systems were suppressed.
-- Near Qayyarah, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL-held buildings and two mortar systems.
-- Near Rawah, two strikes engaged an ISIL vehicle-bomb factory and destroyed a vehicle and a vehicle bomb.
-- Near Sinjar, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit.
-- Near Tal Afar, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit, two staging areas and a headquarters building. A mortar system was destroyed and two mortar positions were suppressed.
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, 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.