Coalition Strikes Continue Against ISIS in Syria, Iraq

Coalition Strikes Continue Against ISIS in Syria, Iraq
July 21, 2017 in Security
U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria on Wednesday, conducting 26 strikes consisting of 36 engagements, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported yesterday.

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 20 strikes consisting of 24 engagements against ISIS targets:

Near Abu Kamal, four strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed 14 oil storage tanks, two wellheads, two vehicles and an ISIS-held building.
Near Dayr Az Zawr, five strikes destroyed five ISIS oil separator tanks, three oil storage tanks, two front-end loaders and two vehicles.
Near Raqqa, eight strikes engaged seven ISIS tactical units; destroyed six fighting positions, a supply cache and a tunnel; and suppressed a mortar team.
Near Shadaddi, three strikes destroyed an ISIS mortar system, a mortar position and a front-end loader.
Strikes in Iraq

In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted six strikes consisting of 12 engagements against ISIS targets:

Near Huwayjah, a strike destroyed an ISIS supply cache.
Near Kirkuk, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit.
Near Qayyarah, four strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units, destroyed a boat, damaged an ISIS-held building; and suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.
July 18 Strikes

Additionally, 20 strikes were conducted in Syria and Iraq on July 18 that closed within the last 24 hours:

Near Raqqa, Syria, 18 strikes engaged 12 ISIS tactical units; destroyed 18 fighting positions, an anti-aircraft artillery system, a weapons cache and a sniper position; and damaged a fighting position and a supply route.
Near Kisik, Iraq, two strikes damaged four ISIS supply routes.
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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