SOUTHWEST ASIA–(ENEWSPF)–June 1, 2017 — U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, conducting 30 strikes consisting of 51 engagements, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.
Officials reported details of the latest strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.
Strikes in Syria
In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 23 strikes consisting of 36 engagements against ISIS targets:
- Near Abu Kamal, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS wellhead and a vehicle.
- Near Dayr Az Zawr, seven strikes destroyed four ISIS wellheads, four ISIS oil tanks, an ISIS oil truck, an ISIS oil storage tank and an ISIS oil storage trailer.
- Near Raqqa, 14 strikes engaged nine ISIS tactical units and destroyed eight fighting positions, two vehicles, two anti-air artillery systems, a front-end loader and a tactical vehicle.
Strikes in Iraq
In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted seven strikes consisting of 15 engagements against ISIS targets:
- Near Huwayjah, a strike destroyed three ISIS-held buildings and an improvised-explosive-device factory.
- Near Mosul, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed two fighting positions, a mortar system and a rocket-propelled grenade system.
- Near Qaim, two strikes destroyed a vehicle-borne-IED factory and a tactical vehicle.
- Near Rawah, a strike destroyed a vehicle-borne IED.
- Near Tal Afar, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit; destroyed a mortar system, a fighting position, an ISIS-held building and a heavy machine gun; and damaged a tunnel and a fighting position.
May 30 Strikes
Task force officials also reported details today about strikes that occurred May 30 and for which details were not available in time for yesterday’s report:
- Near Raqqa in Syria, a strike destroyed an ISIS command-and-control node.
- Near Mosul in Iraq, two strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units; destroyed two fighting positions, a heavy machine gun, a vehicle and a vehicle-borne IED; damaged a fighting position; and 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