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 and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 10 strikes consisting of 14 engagements in Syria:
— Near Abu Kamal, three strikes destroyed three oil wellheads and two oil storage tanks.
— Near Bab, two strikes engaged four ISIL tactical units and destroyed a vehicle.
— Near Raqqah, four strikes destroyed a front-end loader, an ammunition factory, an oil pump jack and an oil storage tank; and damaged a supply route.
— Near Dayr Az Zawr, a strike destroyed two oil wellheads.
Strikes in Iraq
Artillery, and attack, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted five strikes consisting of 21 engagements in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:
— Near Mosul, five strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units; destroyed five watercraft, four vehicle-borne bomb factories, four front-end loaders, an artillery system, a vehicle, two ISIL-held buildings and a command-and-control node; and suppressed an ISIL mortar team.
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.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Defense U.S. Department of Defense