SOUTHWEST ASIA, Jan. 19, 2017 — 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 the latest strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.
Strikes in Syria
Attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 21 strikes consisting of 24 engagements in Syria:
— Near Abu Kamal, two strikes destroyed a large oil tanker and an oil still.
— Near Bab, three strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two tactical vehicles and a supply cache.
— Near Shadaddi, a strike destroyed a vehicle bomb.
— Near Raqqah, 12 strikes engaged four ISIL tactical units, six fighting positions, a house bomb, a tactical vehicle, a checkpoint, and two tunnels; suppressed four ISIL tactical units; and damaged a supply route.
— Near Ayn Isa, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed three fighting positions and a heavy machine gun.
— Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes destroyed 20 oil refinement stills.
Strikes in Iraq
Attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft as well as rocket artillery conducted six strikes consisting of 45 engagements in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:
— Near Kisik, a strike suppressed an ISIL tactical unit.
— Near Mosul, four strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units, destroyed 49 watercraft, three ISIL-held buildings, four fighting positions, three mortars, three barges, two vehicles, a vehicle bomb facility, a command-and-control node, and three excavators; suppressed an ISIL tactical unit; and damaged two tunnels and 12 supply routes.
— Near Sinjar, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an unmanned aerial vehicle launch site.
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, 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 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.
