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ISIL Terrorist Locations Hit 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.

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 15 strikes in Syria:

-- Near Ar Raqqah, a strike engaged oil processing equipment.

-- Near Ayn Isa, seven strikes engaged five ISIL tactical units, destroying a vehicle and four fighting positions.

-- Near Mar’a, seven strikes engaged seven ISIL tactical units, destroying three vehicles, an artillery system, and a fighting position.

Strikes in Iraq

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

-- Near Bayji, a strike destroyed two rocket systems and a front-end loader, and engaged two fighting positions.

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

-- Near Kirkuk, a strike engaged two ISIL tactical units, two staging areas and destroyed a weapons cache and an observation post.

-- Near Mosul, four strikes engaged four ISIL tactical units, a mortar system and a fighting position; destroyed four vehicles, three mortar systems, a car bomb, a command and control node, an artillery system, and a weapons cache; and damaged three tunnel systems and a vehicle.

-- Near Rawah, a strike engaged an ISIL-held building.

-- Near Tal Afar, a strike engaged an ISIL car bomb facility.

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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