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Counter-ISIL Strikes Target 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 six strikes in Syria:

-- Near Abu Kamal, a strike engaged three ISIL supply routes.

-- Near Raqqah, two strikes engaged two ISIL supply routes and destroyed two oil wellheads.

-- Near Ayn Isa, a strike engaged two ISIL staging areas.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, a strike destroyed two ISIL oil wellheads.

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

Strikes in Iraq

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

-- Near Huwayjah, a strike engaged an ISIL weapons cache.

-- Near Kisik, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL checkpoint.

-- Near Mosul, three strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units and two staging areas, destroying four vehicles, four ISIL-held buildings, four fighting positions, three containers, two mortar systems, a tunnel entrance, a bunker, an artillery system, a front-end loader, a weapons cache, a heavy machine gun and a tanker trailer. A vehicle bomb was damaged and three mortar positions and a fighting position were suppressed.

-- Near Sinjar, two strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units, destroying two heavy machine guns and a vehicle bomb. Mortar fire was suppressed.

-- Near Sultan Abdallah, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed three weapons caches.

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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