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.