Officials Release Details of Latest Strikes Against ISIS in Syria, Iraq

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Sept. 16, 2017 — U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, conducting 28 strikes consisting of 33 engagements, 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

In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 24 strikes consisting of 28 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Abu Kamal, two strikes destroyed a weapons cache and an ISIS headquarters.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, three strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units and destroyed two fighting positions.

-- Near Raqqa, 19 strikes engaged five ISIS tactical units; destroyed nine ISIS supply routes, eight fighting positions, a vehicle and a logistics node; and suppressed two fighting positions.

Strikes in Iraq

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

-- Near Huwayjah, two strikes destroyed seven vehicle-borne bombs, a bunker and a heavy machine gun.

-- Near Rawah, two strikes destroyed two ISIS-held buildings, a command-and-control node and a vehicle.

Previous Strikes

Additionally, 38 strikes consisting of 55 engagements were conducted in Syria and Iraq on Sept. 14 that closed within the last 24 hours.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, Syria six strikes destroyed an ISIS unmanned aerial system, a fighting position and an ISIS supply route and suppressed three fighting positions.

-- Near Raqqa, Syria, 31 strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed 25 fighting positions, 25 vehicles, three ISIS supply routes, two logistics nodes, ISIS engineering equipment and an improvised explosive device.

-- Near Huwayjah, Iraq, a strike destroyed 11 vehicle-borne bombs and a vehicle-borne-bomb facility.

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.