Military Strikes Continue Against ISIS Terrorists in Syria, Iraq

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Oct. 12, 2017 — U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, conducting 31 strikes consisting of 39 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 27 strikes consisting of 33 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Abu Kamal, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS vehicle.

-- Near Raqqa, 24 strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units; damaged nine fighting positions; destroyed 11 fighting positions, 12 vehicles, two communication nodes and one ISIS supply route.

-- Near Shadaddai, two strikes destroyed an ISIS headquarters and one staging area.

Strikes in Iraq

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

-- Near Qaim, three strikes destroyed an ISIS training camp and staging area.

-- Near Rawah, a strike destroyed a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device and three ISIS supply routes.

Oct. 10 Strikes

Additionally, two strikes consisting of six engagements were conducted in Syria and Iraq on Oct. 10 for which the information was not previously available:

-- Near Raqqa, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a fighting position.

-- Near Rawah, a strike destroyed a VBIED, an ISIS fuel tanker and a vehicle.

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.