From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release
SOUTHWEST ASIA, Aug. 3, 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
Fighter aircraft conducted five strikes in Syria:
— Near Raqqah, a strike struck an ISIL headquarters.
— Near Manbij, four strikes struck four separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed five ISIL fighting positions.
Strikes in Iraq
Fighter, remotely piloted aircraft and rocket artillery conducted seven strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:
— Near Kisik, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle and an ISIL fighting position.
— Near Mosul, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle and suppressed an ISIL mortar position.
— Near Qayyarah, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun, an ISIL mortar system, two ISIL vehicles and an ISIL assembly area.
— Near Ramadi, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive device, five ISIL vehicles and four ISIL tactical vehicles.
— Near Rawah, a strike destroyed an ISIL fuel tanker.
— Near Tal Afar, a strike struck an ISIL headquarters.
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.
