Attacks in Middle East Target ISIS in Iraq and Syria

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An Air Task Force-Iraq (ATF-I) technician guides the pilot of a CF-188 Hornet fighter jet onto the ramp after the first Canadian airstrike over Syria during Operation IMPACT on April 8, 2015. Photo: Op Impact, DND
An Air Task Force-Iraq (ATF-I) technician guides the pilot of a CF-188 Hornet fighter jet onto the ramp after the first Canadian airstrike over Syria during Operation IMPACT on April 8, 2015. Photo: Op Impact, DND

SOUTHWEST ASIA – NEWS – U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Iraq and Syria yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

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 and rocket artillery conducted 16 strikes in 19 engagements in Syria:

— Near Abu Kamal, four strikes destroyed four oil wellheads, two oil storage tanks and an oil pumpjack.

— Near Bab, a strike destroyed four ISIL-held buildings.

— Near Dayr Az Zawr, four strikes destroyed two oil pump jacks, an oil tanker truck and an oil wellhead.

— Near Raqqa, seven strikes destroyed an oil storage tank, an oil barrel, an oil inlet manifold, an oil separation tank, a vehicle bomb, a tunnel and a weapons storage facility; and damaged a supply route.

Strikes in Iraq

Bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft and rocket artillery conducted five strikes in 19 engagements in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:

— Near Kisik, a strike engaged an ISIL staging area.

 Near Mosul, four strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units and an ISIL staging area; destroyed three fighting positions, two vehicles, two vehicle bomb factories, a tunnel entrance, a supply cache and a weapons cache; and damaged a supply route.

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

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