Coalition Strikes Target ISIS in Syria, Iraq

U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, conducting 27 strikes consisting of 29 engagements, 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

In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 13 strikes consisting of 17 engagements against ISIS targets:

  • Near Abu Kamal, three strikes destroyed eight ISIS oil refinement stills and two oil tankers.
  • Near Dayr Az Zawr, three strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle, an oil tanker and an oil storage tank.
  • Near Raqqa, seven strikes engaged five ISIS tactical units; destroyed two fighting positions, a mortar tube and a mortar facility; and damaged five fighting positions and a supply route.

Strikes in Iraq

In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted three strikes consisting of 10 engagements against ISIS targets:

  • Near Beiji, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed two vehicles and a staging area.
  • Near Qayyarah, a strike suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.
  • Near Tal Afar, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed two ISIS-held buildings, two vehicles, a mortar system and a fighting position.

July 22 Strikes

Additionally, 14 strikes were conducted in Syria and Iraq on July 22 that closed within the last 24 hours.

  • Near Kisik, Iraq, a strike suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.
  • Near Dayr Az Zawr, Syria, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle.
  • Near Raqqa, Syria, 12 strikes engaged 10 ISIS tactical units and destroyed three fighting positions, a storage facility and a tunnel.

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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