SOUTHWEST ASIA, Jan. 3, 2017 — U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Iraq and Syria yesterday, 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
Attack, bomber, fighter, remotely piloted aircraft and rocket artillery conducted 14 strikes in Syria:
— Near Abu Kamal, a strike destroyed three oil wellheads.
— Near Shadaddi, four strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL-held building, a fighting position, a weapons cache, a vehicle bomb and a vehicle bomb storage facility.
— Near Raqqah, five strikes engaged four ISIL tactical units and destroyed two fighting positions, a weapons cache and an ISIL-held building.
— Near Ayn Isa, a strike destroyed a vehicle bomb.
— Near Dayr Az Zawr, a strike destroyed four oil refinement tanks and an oil tanker truck.
— Near Manbij, two strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units and destroyed two fighting positions.
Strikes in Iraq
Attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft and rocket artillery conducted 10 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:
— Near Beiji, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed three tactical vehicles, an ISIL-held building and an armored front-end loader.
— Near Haditha, a strike destroyed an ISIL-held building, a heavy machine gun and a mortar system.
— Near Huwayjah, three strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a weapons cache, a piece of engineering equipment and an improvised weapons factory.
— Near Qaim, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a checkpoint.
Task force officials define a strike as one or more kinetic events that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single, sometimes cumulative, effect. Therefore, officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIL vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against buildings, vehicles and weapon systems in a compound, for example, having the cumulative effect of making those targets harder or impossible for ISIL to use. Accordingly, officials said, they do 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. Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike.
Part of Operation Inherent Resolve
The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the ISIL terrorist group and the threat they pose to Iraq, Syria, and the wider international community. The destruction of ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the terrorist group’s ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said.
Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Syria include the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.