U.S. Military Strikes Target ISIL in Syria, Iraq | WPN World People News

U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Iraq and Syria on Dec. 30, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported on Dec. 31.

Officials reported details of the latest strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

Attack, bomber and fighter aircraft conducted 21 strikes in Syria:

-- Near Raqqah, 17 strikes engaged 14 ISIL tactical units; destroyed 12 fighting positions, three oil storage tanks, a vehicle bomb and an oil wellhead; damaged two supply routes; and suppressed a tactical unit.

-- Near Tanf, four strikes destroyed two vehicle bombs.

Strikes in Iraq

Attack, bomber, fighter, remotely piloted and rotary wing aircraft and rocket artillery conducted seven strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:

-- Near Huwayjah, a strike destroyed an ISIL-held building.

-- Near Haditha, a strike damaged a fighting position.

-- Near Mosul, four strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units; destroyed five fighting positions, three mortar systems, three ISIL-held buildings, a vehicle, a crane, a weapons factory, a vehicle bomb and a mortar position; damaged 12 supply routes; and suppressed four mortar positions.

-- Near Qayyarah, a strike destroyed an ISIL weapons storage facility.

Task force officials define a strike as one or more kinetic events that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single, sometimes cumulative, effect. Therefore, officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIL vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against buildings, vehicles and weapon systems in a compound, for example, having the cumulative effect of making those targets harder or impossible for ISIL to use. Accordingly, officials said, they do 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. Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the ISIL terrorist group and the threat they pose to Iraq, Syria, and the wider international community. The destruction of ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the terrorist group's ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said.

Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Syria include the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.

Source: U.S. Department of Defense