Military, National

U.S., Coalition Continue Strikes to Defeat ISIS in Syria, Iraq, July 17, 2017


Operaion Inherent Resolve
Source: defense.gov

SOUTHWEST ASIA–(ENEWSPF)–July 17, 2017 — U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, conducting 31 strikes consisting of 51 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 22 strikes consisting of 34 engagements against ISIS targets:

  • Near Abu Kamal, two strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed an ISIS checkpoint and a trailer.
  • Near Dayr Az Zawr, three strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed three weapons caches, two staging areas and a wellhead.
  • Near Raqqa, 15 strikes engaged 13 ISIS tactical units and destroyed 18 fighting positions, two vehicle bomb factories and a mortar system.
  • Near Shadaddi, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a tactical vehicle and a vehicle.

Strikes in Iraq

In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted nine strikes consisting of 17 engagements against ISIS targets:

  • Near Mosul, three strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units, destroyed two fighting positions and two tunnel entrances and damaged a fighting position.
  • Near Qayyarah, two strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed two ISIS-held buildings.
  • Near Rawah, two strikes destroyed two ISIS-held buildings and two tactical vehicles.
  • Near Tal Afar, two strikes destroyed an ISIS tactical vehicle and a mortar system.

July 15 Strikes

Additionally, 14 strikes were conducted in Syria and Iraq on July 15 that closed within the last 24 hours:

  • Near Shadaddi, Syria, a strike destroyed a fighting position.
  • Near Raqqa, Syria, 12 strikes engaged five ISIS tactical units and destroyed seven fighting positions, three mortar team positions, a mortar system, a fighting position and a vehicle.
  • Near Kisik, Iraq, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a tunnel entrance.

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.

Source: http://defense.gov


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