December 12: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq

Release No: 16-190 Dec. 12, 2016 PRINT | E-MAIL

December 12, 2016
Release # 20161212-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Dec. 11, Coalition military forces conducted 19 strikes against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted nine strikes using attack, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted ten strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using attack, bomber, fighter, rotary and remotely piloted aircraft as well as rocket artillery against ISIL targets.

Syria
* Near Abu Kamal, one strike destroyed seven oil tanker trucks and an oil well head.
* Near Ar Raqqah, three strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL chemical weapon facility and an armored vehicle.
* Near Ayn Isa, four strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units.
* Near Dayr Az Zawr, one strike destroyed eight oil tanker trucks.

Iraq
* Near Bayji, one strike destroyed an ISIL vehicle.
* Near Haditha, one strike destroyed an ISIL bunker.
* Near Mosul, five strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units; destroyed five ISIL-held buildings, two VBIED facilities, three VBIEDs, six fighting positions, three mortar systems, a heavy machine gun, a weapons cache, two front-end loaders, two tactical vehicles, a tunnel, and two pieces of engineering equipment; damaged 15 supply routes; and suppressed an ISIL tactical unit.
* Near Rawah, one strike destroyed an ISIL dump truck and damaged an artillery system.
* Near Tal Afar, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a tactical vehicle.

Strike assessments are based on initial reports. All aircraft returned to base safely.

A strike, as defined in the CJTF releases, means one or more kinetic events that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single, sometimes cumulative effect for that location.
So having a single aircraft deliver a single weapon against a lone ISIL vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against a group of buildings and vehicles and weapon systems in a compound, for example, having the cumulative effect of making that facility (or facilities) harder or impossible to use.
Accordingly, CJTF-OIR 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. The information used to compile the daily strike releases is based on 'Z' or Greenwich Mean Time.
Ground-based artillery fired in counter-fire or in fire support to maneuver roles are not classified as a strike as defined by CJTF-OIR.

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 group's ability to project terror and conduct operations. Coalition nations which have conducted strikes in Iraq include Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Coalition nations which have conducted strikes in Syria include Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

CJTFOIR