SOUTHWEST ASIA–(ENEWSPF)–June 15, 2017 — U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, conducting 28 strikes consisting of 67 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 21 strikes consisting of 28 engagements against ISIS targets:
- Near Abu Kamal, five strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit, destroyed two ISIS wellheads, and damaged a weapons cache, a weapons factory and a vehicle bomb factory.
- Near Dayr Az Zawr, five strikes destroyed eight ISIS oil storage tanks, four ISIS oil separator tanks and three ISIS wellheads.
- Near Raqqa, 11 strikes engaged eight ISIS tactical units; destroyed nine fighting positions, three ISIS boats and a vehicle; and suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.
Strikes in Iraq
In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted seven strikes consisting of 39 engagements against ISIS targets:
- Near Huwayjah, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS boat and an ISIS staging area.
- Near Qaim, a strike destroyed a vehicle bomb factory.
- Near Mosul, three strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units; destroyed seven fighting positions, two tunnels, a mortar system and a medium machine gun; and damaged a fighting position.
- Near Tal Afar, a strike destroyed a mortar system.
June 13 Strikes
Additionally, 13 strikes were conducted in Syria and Iraq on June 13 that closed within the last 24 hours:
- Near Raqqah, Syria, 10 strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units and a sniper and destroyed a fighting position, a tunnel, an ISIS headquarters, a weapons cache, a vehicle and a vehicle bomb.
- Near Kisik, Iraq, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit, destroyed an ISIS tunnel and a sniper position, and damaged 12 ISIS supply routes.
- Near Mosul, Iraq, two strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed four fighting positions, two vehicles, a tunnel, a weapons cache, an anti-air artillery system, a rocket-propelled grenade system and a medium machine gun.
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