Coalition Strikes Target ISIS Terrorists in Syria, Iraq

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Aug. 30, 2017 — U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, conducting 56 strikes consisting of 109 engagements, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

U.S. Central Command continues to work with partner nations to conduct targeted airstrikes in Iraq and Syria as part of the comprehensive strategy to degrade and defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS.

Officials reported details of yesterday's strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 51 strikes consisting of 84 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Abu Kamal, four strikes destroyed six ISIS oil stills, five oil storage barrels, a front-end loader and a fuel truck and damaged a supply route.

-- Near Hawl, a strike destroyed an ISIS command-and-control node.

-- Near Raqqa, 46 strikes engaged 30 ISIS tactical units; destroyed 66 fighting positions, five heavy machine guns, five vehicles, three medium machine guns, three anti-air systems, two command-and-control nodes, an ISIS headquarters, a weapons cache, a staging area and a vehicle-borne bomb; damaged eight fighting positions; and suppressed two heavy machine guns.

Strikes in Iraq

In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted five strikes consisting of 25 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Huwayjah, a strike destroyed an ISIS weapons cache and a tunnel.

-- Near Qaim, a strike destroyed two ISIS front-end loaders and a fuel truck.

-- Near Rawah, a strike destroyed an ISIS weapons storage facility.

-- Near Tal Afar, two strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and two snipers; destroyed three fighting positions, two ISIS-held buildings, a supply cache, and a medium machine gun; damaged five fighting positions; and suppressed two ISIS tactical units.

Previous Strikes

Additionally, 53 strikes consisting of 62 engagements were conducted in Syria and Iraq on Aug. 27-28 that closed within the last 24 hours.

-- On Aug. 27, near Dayr Az Zawr, Syria, a strike destroyed an ISIS command-and-control node.

-- On Aug. 27, near Raqqa, Syria, two strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed two fighting positions.

-- On Aug. 28, near Dayr Az Zawr, Syria, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS weapons cache.

-- On Aug. 28, near Raqqa, Syria, 46 strikes engaged 32 ISIS tactical units and destroyed 37 fighting positions, two vehicle-borne bombs, an ISIS unmanned aerial system and a command-and-control node.

-- On Aug. 28, near Tal Afar, Iraq, three strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units and destroyed two ISIS-held buildings and a tunnel.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

These strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to destroy ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The destruction of ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria also further limits the group's ability to project terror and conduct external operations throughout the region and the rest of the world, task force officials said.

The list above contains all strikes conducted by fighter, attack, bomber, rotary-wing or remotely piloted aircraft; rocket-propelled artillery; and some ground-based tactical artillery when fired on planned targets, officials noted.

Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike, they added. A strike, as defined by the coalition, refers to one or more kinetic engagements that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single or cumulative effect.

For example, task force officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIS vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against a group of ISIS-held buildings and weapon systems in a compound, having the cumulative effect of making that facility harder or impossible to use. Strike assessments are based on initial reports and may be refined, officials said.

The task force does 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.