SOUTHWEST ASIA–(ENEWSPF)–April 17, 2017 — U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, conducting 33 strikes consisting of 105 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 15 engagements against ISIS targets:
- Near Abu Kamal, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS vehicle.
- Near Raqqa, five strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed four fighting positions and a mortar system.
- Near Dayr Az Zawr, nine strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units; destroyed nine ISIS oil equipment items, five wellheads and one vehicle; and suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.
- Near Tabqah, five strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and suppressed three ISIS tactical units.
Strikes in Iraq
In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 12 strikes consisting of 90 engagements against ISIS targets:
- Near Qaim, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS vehicle.
- Near Mosul, eight strikes engaged seven ISIS tactical units; destroyed eight fighting positions, three vehicle-borne bombs, three mortar systtwo ISIS vehicles, two heavy machine guns and a front-end loader; damaged 16 ISIS supply routes and four fighting positions; and suppressed 10 mortar teams and an ISIS tactical unit.
- Near Rawah, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed two anti-air artillery systems.
- Near Tal Afar, a strike engaged 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
