Resolute Support Remains Focused on Defeating Terrorists Following Kabul Attack

By Lisa Ferdinando DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Jan. 27, 2018 — The Resolute Support mission remains focused on defeating the insurgents in Afghanistan, the commander of the mission said today, following a terrorist bombing in Kabul.

“Today’s attack once again demonstrates that the enemies of Afghanistan kill indiscriminately,” Army Gen. John W. Nicholson said in a statement. “Unarmed civilians throughout Afghanistan regularly bear the brunt of this cruelty.”

Nicholson said the terrorists care nothing for the people of Afghanistan.

The Afghan government and Afghan National Defense and security forces are working tirelessly to defend all Afghans and respond to these attacks with bravery and professionalism, he said.

“As our thoughts turn to the family and friends of those killed and injured at this time, we will also go forward and do our best work in their memory -- defeating the insurgents and bringing peace to this region,” Nicholson said.

The explosives were hidden in an ambulance; nearly 100 people had been killed in the attack, according to news reports.

OIR Officials Report Details of Latest Strikes Against ISIS in Syria, Iraq

U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria between Jan. 19-25, conducting 60 strikes consisting of 93 engagements, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

CJTF-OIR officials reported that a significant precision strike involving exhaustive intelligence and observation to confirm ISIS concentrations and ensure no civilian casualties killed 145-150 ISIS terrorists in Iraq’s Middle Euphrates Valley Jan. 20.

In addition, 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 six strikes consisting of 12 engagements against ISIS targets near Abu Kamal. The strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units and destroyed two ISIS supply routes, four fighting positions, a front-end loader, a road grader and an ISIS line of communication.

On Jan. 24, coalition military forces conducted 11 strikes consisting of 15 engagements against ISIS targets near Abu Kamal. The strikes engaged six ISIS tactical units and destroyed a front-end loader, two ISIS supply routes, four fighting positions and an ISIS line of communication.

On Jan. 23, coalition military forces conducted six strikes consisting of 10 engagements against ISIS targets near Abu Kamal. The strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed three pieces of ISIS construction equipment, three fighting positions and two ISIS supply routes.

On Jan. 22, coalition military forces conducted four strikes consisting of seven engagements against ISIS targets near Abu Kamal. The strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units and destroyed two ISIS supply routes, a command-and-control center and an ISIS-held building.

On Jan. 21, coalition military forces conducted 10 strikes consisting of 13 engagements against ISIS targets near Abu Kamal. The strikes engaged eight ISIS tactical units and destroyed a staging facility, two ISIS supply routes, a munitions storage site, an ISIS-held building, an ammunition truck and a fighting position.

On Jan. 20, coalition military forces conducted 12 strikes consisting of 19 engagements against ISIS targets near Abu Kamal. The strikes engaged 12 ISIS tactical units and destroyed two fighting positions, a staging facility, a vehicle-borne bomb, three weapons caches, two ISIS headquarters, an ISIS motorcycle, an ISIS construction vehicle and an ISIS-held building.

On Jan. 19, coalition military forces conducted seven strikes consisting of 13 engagements against ISIS targets near Abu Kamal. The strikes destroyed two ISIS supply routes, three ISIS equipment vehicles, six fighting positions, two ISIS vehicles and a command-and-control center.

Strikes in Iraq

There were no reported strikes in Iraq Jan. 23-25.

On Jan. 22, coalition military forces conducted a strike consisting of one engagement against ISIS targets near Qara Tapa. The strike destroyed an ISIS weapons cache.

On Jan. 21, coalition military forces conducted two strikes consisting of three engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Hawija, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a fighting position and an ISIS command-and-control center.

-- Near Rutbah, a strike destroyed two ISIS tactical vehicles.

On Jan. 20, coalition military forces conducted a strike consisting of one engagement against ISIS targets near Qayyarah. The strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit.

There were no reported strikes in Iraq on Jan. 19.

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.

Coalition Precision Strikes Kill Scores of ISIS Terrorists in Syria

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Jan. 23, 2018 — Precision strikes killed an estimated 145-150 Islamic State of Iraq and Syria terrorists near Shafah, Syria, Jan. 20, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

The precision strikes were a culmination of extensive intelligence preparation to confirm an ISIS headquarters and command-and-control center in an exclusively ISIS-occupied location in the contested Middle Euphrates River valley, officials said.

Syrian Democratic Forces on the ground, who continue to be engaged in heavy fighting against hard-core ISIS remnants attempting to regroup, assisted in target observation prior to the strikes, according to officials. The combination of intelligence and continuous eyes on the target ensured no accidental engagement of nonmilitary personnel.

Heavy Concentration of ISIS Fighters

The ISIS headquarters contained a heavy concentration of ISIS fighters who appear to have been massing for movement.

“The strikes underscore our assertion that the fight to liberate Syria is far from over,” said Army Maj. Gen. James B. Jarrard, commanding general of Special Operations Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve.

“Our SDF partners are still making daily progress and sacrifices, and together we are still finding, targeting and killing ISIS terrorists’ intent on keeping their extremist hold on the region. We cannot take our focus off our mission, and we must not lose our momentum in taking these terrorists off the battlefield and preventing them from resurfacing somewhere else,” Jarrard said.

Though ISIS has lost more than 98 percent of the land it once claimed as part of its so-called physical caliphate, the group continues to demonstrate the ability to mass large numbers in its attempt to retain a stronghold in Syria, officials said.

The continued discovery of ISIS concentrations and facilities reinforces the coalition’s commitment to achieving the lasting defeat of ISIS, according to officials.