SOUTHWEST ASIA, March 23, 2017 — U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, 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

Near Raqqa in Syria, coalition military forces conducted eight strikes consisting of nine engagements against ISIS targets.

The strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units; destroyed two tactical vehicles, a fighting position and a heavy transport equipment piece; and damaged four supply routes.

Strikes in Iraq

In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted nine strikes consisting of 67 engagements against ISIS targets, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:

— Near Qaim, a strike destroyed a tactical vehicle and a bulldozer.

— Near Kisik, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed five mortar systems.

— Near Mosul, five strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units; destroyed 11 fighting positions, eight vehicles, four rocket-propelled-grenade systems, two vehicle-borne bombs, a mortar system; and a tunnel; damaged three supply routes and a fighting position; and suppressed five ISIS tactical units and an ISIS sniper team.

— Near Rawah, a strike destroyed a bomb-making facility.

— Near Tal Afar, a strike destroyed an ISIS headquarters.

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.