SOUTHWEST ASIA -- U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, conducting 14 strikes consisting of 44 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 12 strikes consisting of 16 engagements against ISIS targets:
-- Near Raqqa, 12 strikes engaged 10 ISIS tactical units and destroyed six fighting positons, three vehicles, three tactical vehicles, two mortar teams, a command-and-control node and a mortar cache.
Strikes in Iraq
In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted two strikes consisting of 28 engagements against ISIS targets:
-- Near Mosul, two strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units; destroyed 24 fighting positions, three vehicles, two rocket-propelled grenade systems, two medium machine guns, a recoilless rifle, a supply cache and a heavy machine gun; and suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.
Previous Strikes
Additionally, six strikes were conducted in Syria and Iraq on June 11, 18-19, that closed within the last 24 hours.
-- On June 11, near Raqqa, Syria, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit, destroyed 19 fighting positions and an ISIS-held building and suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.
-- On June 18, near Raqqa, Syria, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit, destroyed five fighting positions, damaged eight fighting positions and suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.
-- On June 19, near Raqqa, Syria, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a fighting position and an unmanned aerial system launch site.
-- On June 19, near Mosul, Iraq, three strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units; destroyed four medium machine guns, two rocket-propelled grenade systems, a fighting position, an artillery system and a bomb-rigged house; and damaged six ISIS supply routes.
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.
An Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II flies in an undisclosed location after receiving fuel from a KC-10 Extender while supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, May 31, 2017. The A-10’s combat radius and short takeoff and landing capability permit operations in and out of locations near front lines. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Michael Battles