Coalition Continues Attacks Against ISIL Terrorists in Syria, Iraq

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Dec. 26, 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 the latest strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

Attack, bomber and fighter aircraft conducted 14 strikes in Syria:

-- Near Al Shadaddi, two strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units, destroyed two vehicles and a heavy machine gun.
-- Near Ar Raqqah, 11 strikes engaged eight ISIL tactical units, destroyed 11 fighting positions, four tactical vehicles, a heavy machine gun, a car bomb and damaged a supply route.
-- Near Manbij, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a fighting position.

Strikes in Iraq

Bomber and fighter aircraft conducted four strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq's government:

-- Near Mosul, two strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units, destroyed six fighting positions, a land bridge, two tactical vehicles, two buildings, a heavy machine gun, two mortars, suppressed an ISIL tactical unit and two mortar teams, and damaged a supply route.
-- Near Rawah, a strike destroyed a front-end loader.
-- Near Sinjar, a strike destroyed an ISIL warehouse.

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 Syria include the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, 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.