NOVEMBER 27, 2017, Southwest Asia – U.S. and coalition military forces have continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, conducting 11 strikes consisting of 36 engagements Nov. 24 and 25, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.
Officials reported details of the most recent strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports and adding that no strikes have yet been reported as having taken place in Syria or Iraq yesterday.
In addition, officials today reported details of a Nov. 23 strike consisting of one engagement near Abu Kamal, Syria, for which the details were unavailable in time for the most recent previous report. The strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS vehicle.
Strikes in Syria
On Nov. 24 in Syria, coalition military forces conducted four strikes consisting of seven engagements against ISIS targets:
- Near Abu Kamal, three strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units and destroyed two ISIS vehicles.
- Near Shadaddi, a strike damaged an ISIS supply route.
On Nov. 25 in Syria, coalition military forces conducted five strikes consisting of eight engagements near Abu Kamal, engaging six ISIS tactical units and destroying four ISIS vehicles and a headquarters.
Strikes in Iraq
On Nov. 24 in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted two strikes consisting of 21 engagements against ISIS targets:
- Near Baaj, a strike engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed six ISIS vehicles and two ISIS-held buildings.
- Near Mosul, a strike damaged an ISIS supply route.
No strikes were reported in Iraq for Nov. 25, officials said.
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.
From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release