Coalition Strikes Target ISIS in Iraq, Syria

U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria on Wednesday, conducting 38 strikes consisting of 75 engagements, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported yesterday.

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

Strikes in Syria

In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 30 strikes consisting of 43 engagements against ISIS targets:

  • Near Abu Kamal, three strikes destroyed two ISIS front-end loaders, two ISIS backhoes, two ISIS fuel storage trailers, an ISIS excavator and a vehicle.
  • Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed a vehicle.
  • Near Mayadin, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle.
  • Near Raqqa, 22 strikes engaged 16 ISIS tactical units and destroyed 12 fighting positions, three vehicles, two ISIS staging areas, an ISIS excavator, an ISIS weapons cache and an ISIS training camp.
  • Near Tabqah, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed four vehicles, two fighting positions and a supply cache.

Strikes in Iraq

In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted eight strikes consisting of 32 engagements against ISIS targets:

  • Near Beiji, a strike destroyed a vehicle-borne bomb and a vehicle-borne-bomb staging area.
  • Near Kirkuk, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle, a command and control node and a vehicle-borne bomb.
  • Near Mosul, three strikes engaged five ISIS tactical units; destroyed 15 fighting positions, three heavy machine guns, two vehicle-borne bombs and a sniper position; and damaged a fighting position and a command and control node.
  • Near Qaim, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle and a tactical vehicle.

June 6 Strikes

Additionally, five strikes were conducted in Syria and Iraq on June 6 that closed within the last 24 hours.

  • Near Dayr Az Zawr, Syria, a strike destroyed four ISIS oil tanks.
  • Near Tabqah, Syria, two strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed two vehicles and a tactical vehicle.
  • Near Mosul, Iraq, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit, destroyed a command-and control-node and a heavy machine gun and damaged nine ISIS supply routes.
  • Near Rawah, Iraq, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

These strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to destroy ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The destruction of ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria also further limits the group's ability to project terror and conduct external operations throughout the region and the rest of the world, task force officials said.

The list above contains all strikes conducted by fighter, attack, bomber, rotary-wing or remotely piloted aircraft; rocket-propelled artillery; and some ground-based tactical artillery when fired on planned targets, officials noted.

Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike, they added. A strike, as defined by the coalition, refers to one or more kinetic engagements that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single or cumulative effect.

For example, task force officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIS vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against a group of ISIS-held buildings and weapon systems in a compound, having the cumulative effect of making that facility harder or impossible to use. Strike assessments are based on initial reports and may be refined, officials said.

The task force does 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.

(Source: US Dept of Defense)

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