Strikes Hit ISIL Terrorists in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Dec. 7, 2016 – U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq yesterday, 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

Attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 13 strikes in Syria:

-- Near Abu Kamal, two strikes destroyed two oil wellheads and an oil pumpjack.

-- Near Raqqah, three strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units and destroyed two storage sheds, a vehicle and a decoy tank.

-- Near Ayn Isa, three strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit, destroying an artillery system. An ISIL vehicle bomb was disabled.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, three strikes destroyed four wellheads and two oil trucks.

-- Near Manbij, a strike destroyed an ISIL decoy artillery system.

-- Near Palmyra, a strike destroyed a vehicle.

Strikes in Iraq

Attack, bomber, fighter, rotary and remotely piloted aircraft conducted five strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq's government:

-- Near Beiji, a strike destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun fighting position.

-- Near Mosul, three strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit, destroying a vehicle bomb facility and an excavator. Three supply routes were damaged, and two tactical units were suppressed.

-- Near Ramadi, a strike destroyed an ISIL vehicle bomb and a homemade explosives cache.

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 it poses to Iraq, Syria, the region and the wider international community. The destruction of targets in Syria and Iraq further limits ISIL's ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said.

Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Syria include the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.