Inherent Resolve Strikes Target ISIS in Syria, Iraq

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Sept. 18, 2017 — U.S. and coalition military forces have continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, conducting 94 strikes consisting of 126 engagements in Iraq and Syria over the last two days, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Operation Inherent resolve

Assessments of results are based on initial reports, officials said.

Strikes in Syria

Coalition military forces conducted 40 strikes consisting of 43 engagements Sept. 16 against ISIS targets in Syria:

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS boat.

-- Near Raqqa, 39 strikes engaged 10 ISIS tactical units; destroyed 26 fighting positions, two ISIS communications infrastructure items, two vehicles, engineering equipment, an improvised explosive device, a logistics node, a tactical vehicle, a vehicle-borne-IED factory and a vehicle-borne IED; damaged two supply routes; and suppressed four fighting positions.

In Syria yesterday, coalition military forces conducted 35 strikes consisting of 49 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Abu Kamal, three strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a logistics node and an ISIS headquarters.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle-borne IED and an ISIS headquarters.

-- Near Raqqa, 30 strikes engaged 10 ISIS tactical units, destroyed 44 vehicles and 13 fighting positions, damaged 13 supply routes and a vehicle-borne IED, and suppressed two fighting positions.

Strikes in Iraq

Coalition military forces conducted eight strikes consisting of 15 engagements Sept. 16 against ISIS targets in Iraq:

-- Near Hawijah, three strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed four tunnels, three weapons caches, two fighting positions, an excavator, a tactical vehicle, a generator and a command-and-control node.

-- Near Rawah, two strikes destroyed two ISIS staging areas and a vehicle-borne-IED production facility.

-- Near Rutbah, three strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed two vehicle-borne-IED storage facilities, two vehicles, a tactical vehicle and a command-and-control node.

In Iraq yesterday, coalition military forces conducted 11 strikes consisting of 19 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Qaim, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle-borne-IED factory and an ISIS-held building.

-- Near Beiji, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed two weapons caches and a vehicle.

-- Near Hawijah, three strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed five tunnel entrances, two command-and-control nodes, a vehicle, a weapons cache and a generator.

-- Near Rawah, six strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed two ISIS-held buildings, an ISIS headquarters, a vehicle-borne-IED factory, a vehicle-borne-IED storage facility, a staging area and a command-and-control node.

Sept. 15 Strikes

Officials also provided details today on 13 strikes consisting of 18 engagements conducted Sept. 15 in Syria and Iraq for which the information was not available in time for previous reports:

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, five strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units and destroyed two fighting positions and a command-and-control node.

-- Near Raqqa, five strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit, destroyed two fighting positions and suppressed three fighting positions.

-- Near Hawijah, three strikes destroyed two tunnels, a vehicle-borne IED and a command-and-control node; damaged four supply routes; and suppressed a fighting position.

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.