US, British and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State last week, conducting 26 strikes consisting of 32 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 19 strikes consisting of 23 engagements against targets:
— Near Abu Kamal, a strike engaged an tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle.
— Near Shadaddi, three strikes engaged two tactical units and destroyed two vehicles and an Islamic State headquarters.
— Near Raqqa, 15 strikes engaged 14 tactical units and destroyed three command-and-control nodes, two headquarters, an Islamic State unmanned aerial system launch site and a vehicle.
Strikes in Iraq
In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted seven strikes consisting of nine engagements against IS targets:
— Near Huwayjah, a strike engaged an IS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS headquarters.
— Near Qaim, a strike engaged an IS tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle.
— Near Bashir, a strike destroyed five pieces of IS oil equipment.
— Near Beiji, a strike engaged an IS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS staging area.
— Near Kisik, a strike destroyed three IS-held buildings and a tunnel.
— Near Tal Afar, a strike suppressed a mortar team.
— Near Tuz, a strike destroyed an excavator and a supply cache.
Aug. 11 Strikes
Additionally, 12 strikes consisting of 16 engagements were conducted in Syria and Iraq on Aug. 11 that closed within the last 24 hours:
— Near Raqqa, Syria, 11 strikes engaged nine Islamic State tactical units and destroyed seven improvised bombs, six IS communication lines, three fighting positions, a vehicle and a tactical vehicle.
— Near Tal Afar, Iraq, a strike suppressed an IS tactical unit.
Part of Operation Inherent Resolve
These strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to destroy Islamic State. The destruction of Islamic State 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 Islamic State vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against a group of Islamic State-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.
