Coalition Strikes Continue Against ISIS in Syria, Iraq

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Dec. 18, 2017 — U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria between Dec. 15-17, conducting 19 strikes consisting of 26 engagements, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Officials reported details of the most recent strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

Yesterday in Syria, coalition military forces conducted eight strikes consisting of 13 engagements against ISIS targets near Abu Kamal. The strikes engaged eight ISIS tactical units.

On Dec. 16, coalition military forces conducted three strikes consisting of three engagements against ISIS targets near Abu Kamal, The strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed two ISIS vehicles and an ISIS-held building.

On Dec. 15, coalition military forces conducted five strikes consisting of seven engagements against ISIS targets near Abu Kamal. The strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units and destroyed two ISIS vehicles two logistics centers, an ISIS headquarters, a fighting position and an explosive hazard.

Strikes in Iraq

Yesterday in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted a strike consisting of one engagement against ISIS targets near Rutbah. The strike destroyed an ISIS-held building.

There were no reported strikes in Iraq on Dec. 16.

On Dec. 15, coalition military forces conducted two strikes consisting of two engagements against ISIS targets near Rutbah. The strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS fuel truck and an ISIS storage container.

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.