Inherent Resolve Strikes Target ISIL in Syria, Iraq

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, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 16 strikes in Syria:

• Near Shadaddi, a strike destroyed an ISIL vehicle-borne bomb.
• Near Raqqah, two strikes struck an ISIL-used bridge and destroyed five ISIL oil pump jacks.
• Near Manbij, 13 strikes struck 12 separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed five ISIL fighting positions and two ISIL vehicles and damaged a separate ISIL fighting position.

Strikes in Iraq

Rocket artillery and bomber, attack, ground-attack, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 20 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:

• Near Baghdadi, two strikes destroyed an ISIL boat and an ISIL mortar system.
• Near Beiji, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position, two ISIL vehicles, two ISIL vehicle-borne bomb, and an ISIL tunnel system and denied ISIL access to terrain.
• Near Fallujah, four strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed nine ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL vehicle, an ISIL heavy machine gun, seven ISIL light machine guns and an ISIL rocket propelled grenade system and denied ISIL access to terrain.
• Near Kisik, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL assembly area and an ISIL weapons cache.
• Near Mosul, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL vehicle and an ISIL tunnel.
• Near Qayyarah, six strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed three ISIL bunkers, two ISIL tunnel entrances, an ISIL command-and-control node, two ISIL mortar systems and six ISIL boats and denied ISIL access to terrain.
• Near Ramadi, a strike destroyed an ISIL weapons cache.
• Near Sultan Abdallah, a strike destroyed an ISIL boat.
• Near Tal Afar, a strike destroyed an ISIL bunker, four ISIL weapons caches, an ISIL assembly area and an ISIL beddown location.

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 they pose to Iraq, Syria, the region, and the wider international community. The destruction of ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the terrorist group's ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said.

Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Syria include the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.

(Source: US Dept of Defense)