Military Strikes Target ISIS Terrorists in Syria, Iraq

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Jan. 12, 2018 — U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria between Jan. 5 and Jan. 11, conducting 96 strikes consisting of 160 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

On Jan. 11 near Abu Kamal in Syria, coalition military forces conducted six strikes consisting of seven engagements against ISIS targets, destroying an ISIS fighting position.

On Jan. 10 near Abu Kamal in Syria, coalition military forces conducted 19 strikes consisting of 34 engagements against ISIS targets, destroying an ISIS supply route, four ISIS vehicles, three command-and-control centers, a recoilless rifle, two logistics centers, an indirect-fire weapon and a vehicle-borne bomb.

On Jan. 9 near Abu Kamal in Syria, coalition military forces conducted 26 strikes consisting of 39 engagements against ISIS targets, destroying three ISIS vehicles, a fighting position and a logistics center.

On Jan. 8 near Abu Kamal in Syria, coalition military forces conducted 15 strikes consisting of 26 engagements against ISIS targets, destroying three ISIS vehicles, an ISIS headquarters, a fighting position, an ISIS line of communication and an indirect-fire weapon.

On Jan. 7 near Abu Kamal in Syria, coalition military forces conducted 17 strikes consisting of 27 engagements against ISIS targets, destroying two ISIS headquarters, three logistics centers, two ISIS command-and-control centers, two fighting positions, two vehicle-borne bomb factories and two ISIS vehicles.

On Jan. 6 near Abu Kamal in Syria, coalition military forces conducted seven strikes consisting of 13 engagements against ISIS targets, destroying an ISIS supply route, a vehicle-borne bomb, an ISIS observation post, two fighting positions and an ISIS vehicle.

On Jan. 5 near Abu Kamal in Syria, coalition military forces conducted three strikes consisting of six engagements against ISIS targets, destroying three fighting positions and two ISIS supply routes.

Strikes in Iraq

There were no reported strikes conducted in Iraq on Jan. 5 and 8-11.

On Jan. 7 in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted two strikes consisting of seven engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Hawijah, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS tunnel.

-- Near Qayyarah, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit.

On Jan. 6 near Hawijah in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted a strike consisting of an engagement against ISIS targets, destroying an ISIS bunker and an ISIS tunnel.

Two additional strikes have been reported in Syria and Iraq against ISIS targets:

-- On Jan. 4 near Abu Kamal, Syria, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit.

-- On Dec. 4 near Rutbah, Iraq, a strike destroyed a vehicle-borne bomb and factory.

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.