U.S., Coalition Continue Strikes Against ISIL in Syria, Iraq

Operation Inherent Resolve – Targeted Operations Against ISIL Terrorists (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

U.S., Coalition Continue Strikes Against ISIL in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Jan. 18, 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 17 strikes in Syria:

— Near Abu Kamal, two strikes destroyed two oil wellheads, an oil tanker truck, and four pieces of oil support equipment.

— Near Bab, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit.

— Near Raqqa, 10 strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units; destroyed a vehicle-borne bomb, a checkpoint and a command-and-control node; damaged two supply routes; and suppressed an ISIL tactical unit.

— Near Ayn Isa, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a fighting position and supply cache.

— Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes destroyed eight oil stills, an oil wellhead and a fuel truck.

Strikes in Iraq

Attack, bomber, fighter, rotary and remotely piloted aircraft as well as rocket artillery, conducted six strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:

— Near Huwayjah, a strike destroyed a weapons cache,

— Near Mosul, five strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units; destroyed three tunnel entrances, two vehicles, three vehicle-borne bombs, three barges, a watercraft, three fighting positions, three tactical vehicles, two mortars and an artillery piece; suppressed two ISIL tactical units; and damaged a tunnel, a fighting position, and 29 supply routes.

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.