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Military Strikes Hit ISIL 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 yesterday’s strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

Attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 18 strikes in Syria:

-- Near Abu Kamal, three strikes destroyed six oil well heads, two oil tanker trucks and an oil pump jack.

-- Near Shadaddi, eight strikes engaged eight ISIL tactical units and destroyed seven fighting positions and two vehicles.

-- Near Ayn Isa, a strike engaged an ISIL staging area.

-- Near Idlib, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle.

-- Near Mara, four strikes engaged four ISIL tactical units and destroyed two fighting positions and a vehicle.

-- Near Palmyra, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit.

Strikes in Iraq

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

-- Near Qaim, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle.

-- Near Mosul, four strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units and two staging areas; destroyed 10 mortar systems, five artillery systems, four ISIL-held buildings, four fighting positions, four vehicles, two supply caches, two repeater tower generators, a vehicle bomb facility, and a vehicle bomb. Four tactical units and three rocket positions were suppressed.

-- Near Qayyarah, two strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units and a mortar position; destroyed an ISIL-held building, a mortar system, an oil tanker truck and a rocket-propelled grenade. A vehicle 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.

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