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Officials Provide Details of Latest Counter-ISIL Strikes in Syria, Iraq

SOUTHWEST ASIA, June 17, 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

Bomber, attack, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 12 strikes in Syria:

-- Near Manbij, 10 strikes struck nine separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed six ISIL fighting positions, three ISIL vehicles and an ISIL mortar system.

-- Near Mara, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed four ISIL fighting positions.

Strikes in Iraq

Bomber, attack, ground-attac, and fighter aircraft conducted 10 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:

-- Near Baghdadi, a strike destroyed an ISIL bunker and an ISIL supply cache.

-- Near Bashir, two strikes destroyed two ISIL beddown locations, three ISIL assembly areas, an ISIL weapons cache and three ISIL command-and-control nodes.

-- Near Fallujah, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed six ISIL heavy machine guns, 10 ISIL fighting positions and an ISIL recoilless rifle and denied ISIL access to terrain.

-- Near Mosul, a strike destroyed an ISIL assembly area and an ISIL vehicle.

-- Near Qayyarah, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle and three ISIL fighting positions and suppressed two separate ISIL tactical units.  

-- Near Sinjar, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.

-- Near Sultan Abdallah, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL assembly area and an ISIL fighting position and damaged a separate ISIL fighting position.

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, 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.