SOUTHWEST ASIA–(ENEWSPF)–July 21, 2017 — U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, conducting conducted 28 strikes consisting of 54 engagements, 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
In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 20 strikes consisting of 24 engagements against ISIS targets:
- Near Abu Kamal, a strike destroyed an ISIS oil storage tanker.
- Near Shadaddi, two strikes destroyed a vehicle bomb and an ISIS-held building and suppressed a fighting position.
- Near Dayr Az Zawr, a strike destroyed an ISIS pipeline and an oil tank.
- Near Raqqa, 16 strikes engaged 10 ISIS tactical units; destroyed 13 fighting positions, two pipelines and an oil tank; and damaged a supply route and an ISIS railway.
Strikes in Iraq
In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted eight strikes consisting of 30 engagements against ISIS targets:
- Near Beiji, two strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed three ISIS-held buildings, two vehicles, an ISIS headquarters and a weapons cache.
- Near Huwayjah, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS-held building.
- Near Qaim, a strike destroyed a vehicle bomb factory.
- Near Qayyarah, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit; destroyed a boat, a mortar system, a vehicle and a tactical vehicle; and suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.
- Near Rawah, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a fuel cache.
- Near Tal Afar, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a tunnel, a vehicle bomb and a vehicle.
July 19 Strikes
Additionally, 22 strikes were conducted in Syria and Iraq on July 19 that closed within the last 24 hours:
- Near Kisik, Iraq, a strike suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.
- Near Rawah, Iraq, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an unmanned aerial system and a vehicle.
- Near Raqqa, Syria, 19 strikes engaged nine ISIS tactical units; destroyed 34 fighting positions, two improvised explosive devices and a vehicle bomb; and damaged four fighting positions and a mortar position.
- Near Tanf, Syria, a strike suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.
Part of Operation Inherent Resolve
These strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to destroy ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The destruction of ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria also further limits the group’s ability to project terror and conduct external operations throughout the region and the rest of the world, task force officials said.
The list above contains all strikes conducted by fighter, attack, bomber, rotary-wing or remotely piloted aircraft; rocket-propelled artillery; and some ground-based tactical artillery when fired on planned targets, officials noted.
Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike, they added. A strike, as defined by the coalition, refers to one or more kinetic engagements that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single or cumulative effect.
For example, task force officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIS vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against a group of ISIS-held buildings and weapon systems in a compound, having the cumulative effect of making that facility harder or impossible to use. Strike assessments are based on initial reports and may be refined, officials said.
The task force does 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.
Source: http://defense.gov