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 12 strikes consisting of 18 engagements in Syria:
— Near Abu Kamal, a strike destroyed an oil wellhead.
— Near Dayr Az Zawr, a strike destroyed an oil pumpjack.
— Near Raqqa, nine strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed 10 oil refinement stills, five oil storage tanks, three oil pumpjacks, an ISIL-held building and two oil tanker trucks.
— Near Tanf, a strike damaged an ISIL supply route.
Strikes in Iraq
Artillery as well as attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 11 strikes consisting of 24 engagements in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:
— Near Huwayjah, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit.
— Near Haditha, two strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units and destroyed three vehicles, a rocket system and a vehicle-borne improvised bomb.
— Near Kisik, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an unmanned-aerial-vehicle launch site and an ISIL-held building.
— Near Mosul, five strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units; destroyed two ISIL headquarters, two vehicle-borne improvised bomb-making facilities, two barges, a fighting position, a tactical vehicle, a vehicle-borne improvised bomb, and an anti-air artillery system; and suppressed an ISIL tactical unit.
— Near Sinjar, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle.
— Near Tal Afar, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a command-and-control node and an unmanned aerial vehicle.
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.
