SOUTHWEST ASIA–(ENEWSPF)–July 15, 2017 — U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, conducting 30 strikes consisting of 45 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 22 strikes consisting of 35 engagements against ISIS targets:
- Near Abu Kamal, 10 strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed 12 oil refinement stills, eight oil storage tanks, four oil separation tanks and four wellheads.
- Near Shadaddi, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed two command-and-control nodes and an ISIS-held building.
- Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes destroyed an ISIS oil refinery and a vehicle bomb-making factory.
- Near Raqqa, eight strikes engaged eight ISIS tactical units and destroyed four fighting positions, a vehicle bomb-making factory, a tunnel, a mortar system and a heavy machine gun.
Strikes in Iraq
In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted eight strikes consisting of 10 engagements against ISIS targets:
- Near Beiji, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed six vehicles, two ISIS-held buildings and a tractor.
- Near Hit, two strikes destroyed two ISIS trailers and a fuel point.
- Near Kirkuk, two strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed two fighting positions and an ISIS-held building.
- Near Mosul, three strikes destroyed two ISIS vehicles and a vehicle bomb-making facility.
July 13 Strikes
Additionally, 11 strikes were conducted in Syria and Iraq on July 13 that closed within the last 24 hours:
- Near Abu Kamal, Syria, a strike destroyed 10 ISIS oil storage tanks, two oil trucks and two oil refinement stills.
- Near Raqqa, Syria, eight strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units and destroyed five ISIS communication towers.
- Near Kisik, Iraq, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit: destroyed a fighting position; and suppressed a fighting position and a supply route.
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