Counter-ISIS Strikes Continue in Syria, Iraq

Counter-ISIS Strikes Continue in Syria, Iraq
May 16, 2017 in Security
U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, conducting 28 strikes consisting of 91 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 17 strikes consisting of 21 engagements against ISIS targets:

Near Abu Kamal, two strikes destroyed three ISIS wellheads.
Near Dayr Az Zawr, four strikes destroyed four ISIS wellheads and three ISIS pump jacks.
Near Raqqa, eight strikes engaged seven ISIS tactical units; destroyed four vehicles, two fighting positions, two vehicle bombs, a front-end loader and a supply cache; and damaged an ISIS supply route.
Near Tabqah, three strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units and destroyed two fighting positions and a tactical vehicle.
Strikes in Iraq

In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 11 strikes consisting of 70 engagements against ISIS targets:

Near Hawayjah, a strike destroyed a supply cache and a tunnel.
Near Qaim, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS staging area and an ISIS storage area.
Near Beiji, a strike destroyed a tactical vehicle.
Near Mosul, five strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units; destroyed nine fighting positions, two mortar systems, to medium machine guns, two vehicle bombs, two ISIS-held buildings, two vehicle bomb-making facilities, and a supply cache; damaged 13 ISIS supply routes and nine fighting positions; and suppressed three ISIS tactical units and two mortar teams.
Near Sinjar, three strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a tactical vehicle.
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: US Dept of Defense)

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