U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq last week, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported.
Officials reported details of the June 8 strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.
Strikes in Syria
Bomber, fighter, attack, and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 16 strikes in Syria:
• Near Raqqah, four strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and an ISIL vehicle-bomb factory and destroyed six ISIL oil pump jacks and an ISIL vehicle.
• Near Manbij, 11 strikes struck 10 separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed nine ISIL fighting positions, three ISIL vehicles and an ISIL mortar system and damaged a separate ISIL fighting position.
• Near Mara, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position.
Strikes in Iraq
Bomber, fighter, ground-attack and remotely piloted aircraft and rocket artillery conducted 18 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:
• Near Huwayjah, a strike struck an ISIL improvised weapons factory.
• Near Beiji, a strike destroyed an ISIL vehicle-borne bomb.
• Near Fallujah, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed 23 ISIL fighting positions, eight ISIL light machine guns, six ISIL heavy machine guns, two ISIL recoilless rifles, an ISIL supply cache and an ISIL rocket propelled grenade system and denied ISIL access to terrain.
• Near Habbaniyah, a strike destroyed an ISIL vehicle.
• Near Haditha, two strikes struck an ISIL staging facility and destroyed three ISIL vehicles and an ISIL weapons cache.
• Near Kisik, a strike stuck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle and an ISIL tunnel system.
• Near Mosul, three strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed two ISIL assembly areas.
• Near Qayyarah, five strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit, an ISIL weigh station, an ISIL beddown location, an ISIL headquarters and an ISIL meeting site and destroyed an ISIL weapons cache.
• Near Ramadi, a strike destroyed an ISIL fighting position and an ISIL heavy machine gun.
• Near Sinjar, a strike destroyed an ISIL rocket rail and an ISIL supply 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.
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, the region 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, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.
