SOUTHWEST ASIA – Jan. 22, 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 yesterday’s strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.
Strikes in Syria
Attack, bomber, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 25 strikes consisting of 39 engagements in Syria:
— Near Bab, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit, destroyed an artillery piece and damaged a tactical vehicle.
— Near Raqqa, 22 strikes engaged 12 ISIL tactical units; destroyed nine fighting positions, two tunnels, two tanks an improvised-bomb factory and an ISIL headquarters; and suppressed three ISIL tactical units.
— Near Dayr Az Zawr, a strike destroyed two oil well heads.
Strikes in Iraq
Attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted six strikes consisting of 16 engagements in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:
— Near Rutbah, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a tactical vehicle, two weapons caches and a mortar.
— Near Beiji, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle.
— Near Kisik, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle and an ISIL-held building.
— Near Mosul, two strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units; destroyed a vehicle-borne-bomb factory, a vehicle-borne bomb, a tank, three fighting positions and a vehicle; and suppressed an ISIL tactical unit.
— Near Tal Afar, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a semi-truck and a command-and-control node.
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 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, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.
