Military Strikes Continue Against ISIS Terrorists in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Sept. 8, 2017 — U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, conducting 19 strikes consisting of 23 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 12 strikes consisting of 12 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Abu Kamal, a strike destroyed an ISIS headquarters.

-- Near Raqqa, 11 strikes destroyed 11 ISIS fighting positions and a command-and-control node and suppressed three fighting positions.

Strikes in Iraq

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

-- Near Huwayjah, three strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed two command-and-control nodes, a vehicle, a vehicle-borne bomb storage facility and a staging area.

-- Near Qaim, a strike suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.

-- Near Rawah, three strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed four command-and-control nodes and a staging area.

Additional Strikes

Additionally, 39 strikes consisting of 42 engagements were conducted in Syria on Sept. 6 that closed within the last 24 hours:

-- On Sept. 6, near Dayr Az Zawr, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit.

-- On Sept. 6, near Raqqa, 38 strikes engaged 19 ISIS tactical units; destroyed 35 fighting positions, three vehicles, two logistics nodes, a command-and-control node, a vehicle-borne bomb and an ISIS unmanned aerial system; and suppressed eight fighting positions.

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.