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Press Release | Dec. 5, 2016

December 5: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq

CJTFOIR


December 5, 2016
Release # 20161205-02
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Dec. 4, Coalition military forces conducted 21 strikes against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 11 strikes using attack, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted 10 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using attack, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets.

Syria
*       Near Abu Kamal, two strikes destroyed two oil manifold valves.
*       Near Al Shadaddi, one strike destroyed an ISIL command and control node.
*       Near Ar Raqqah, three strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a weapons production facility, a vehicle, and a bulldozer.
*       Near Ayn Isa, one strike destroyed an ISIL mortar system.
*       Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two fighting positions, a vehicle, and an oil wellhead.
*       Near Manbij, two strikes destroyed an ISIL bulldozer and a VBIED.

Iraq
*       Near Al Asad, one strike destroyed an ISIL VBIED.
*       Near Bashir, one strike destroyed an ISIL-held building and an anti-air artillery system.
*       Near Bayji, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a bunker.
*       Near Mosul, five strikes engaged four ISIL tactical units; destroyed seven mortar systems, four ISIL-held buildings, two vehicles, a VBIED factory, and a front-end loader; and damaged 31 supply routes.
*       Near Qayyarah, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle and a weapons system.
*       Near Tal Afar, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a building.

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.