Military Strikes Hit ISIL Terrorists in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Dec. 30, 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, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 10 strikes in Syria:

-- Near Abu Kamal, three strikes destroyed three oil wellheads and an oil tanker truck.

-- Near Shadaddi, a strike suppressed an ISIL tactical unit.

-- Near Raqqah, two strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units, destroying a command-and-control node, a weapons cache and a fighting position.

-- Near Manbij, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a fighting position.

-- Near Palmyra, three strikes destroyed three ISIL-held artillery systems, a crane, a heavy machine gun and a tank.

Strikes in Iraq

Attack, bomber, fighter, rotary and remotely piloted aircraft, as well as rocket artillery, conducted eight strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq's government:

-- Near Huwayjah, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL-held building.

-- Near Qaim, three strikes destroyed a vehicle bomb-making facility, a bomb factory and an ISIL-held building.

-- Near Mosul, four strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit, destroying 11 ISIL-held buildings, five supply caches, three tactical vehicles, two mortar systems, two fighting positions, two vehicle bombs, a tunnel, an observation post, a research lab, a command-and-control node, an up-armored vehicle bomb, two barges and two artillery pieces. Five mortar teams were suppressed, and 20 supply routes and two repeater towers were damaged.

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, 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.