Military Strikes Hit ISIS Terrorists in Syria, Iraq

U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, conducting 32 strikes consisting of 75 engagements, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

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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 27 strikes consisting of 46 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Abu Kamal, three strikes destroyed an ISIS wellhead and a vehicle.

-- Near Shadaddi, three strikes destroyed three ISIS-held buildings, a staging area, a storage facility and a tank.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, three strikes destroyed an ISIS-held building, two pump jacks, a refinery and a generator.

-- Near Raqqa, 18 strikes engaged 13 ISIS tactical units, destroyed 12 vehicles, nine fighting positions and a boat, and suppressed two ISIS tactical units.

Strikes in Iraq

In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted five strikes consisting of 29 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Beiji, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle.

-- Near Mosul, three strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units; destroyed 14 fighting positions, three mortar systems, three medium machine guns, three supply caches, a rocket-propelled grenade system and an ISIS headquarters; and suppressed a mortar team.

-- Near Tal Afar, a strike destroyed an ISIS headquarters.

June 24-26 Strikes

Additionally, nine strikes were conducted in Syria and Iraq on June 24 and June 26 that closed within the last 24 hours:

-- Near Raqqa, Syria, a June 24 strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit, destroyed 19 fighting positions and two vehicles, and damaged a weapons cache

-- Near Shadaddi, Syria, three June 26 strikes destroyed two ISIS-held buildings, a staging area and a command-and-control node.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, Syria, a June 26 strike destroyed an ISIS factory.

-- Near Raqqa, Syria, two June 26 strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an improvised bomb belt.

-- Near Kisik, Iraq, a June 26 strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit, destroyed a weapons cache and suppressed three ISIS mortar teams.

-- Near Mosul, Iraq, a June 26 strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a fighting position, a medium machine gun, a rocket-propelled grenade system and an ISIS headquarters.

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.

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