December 22: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq

December 22, 2016
Release # 20161222-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Dec. 21, Coalition military forces conducted 16 strikes against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted eight strikes using attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted eight strikes coordinated with and in support of the government of Iraq using attack, bomber, and fighter aircraft against ISIL targets.

Syria
. Near Abu Kamal, one strike destroyed an oil well head.
. Near Al Shadaddi, one strike destroyed a decoy tactical vehicle.
. Near Ar Raqqah, two strikes destroyed an ISIL mortar system and suppressed a tactical unit.
. Near Ayn Isa, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit.
. Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes destroyed three oil well heads, three oil tanker trucks, an excavator, and a crane.
. Near Palmyra, one strike destroyed two bunkers and an ISIL artillery system.

Iraq
. Near Al Qaim, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle.
. Near Bashir, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and a tunnel.
. Near Bayji, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL-held building and a generator.
. Near Haditha, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL-held building.
. Near Kisik, one strike destroyed an ISIL held building.
. Near Mosul, three strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units; destroyed six fighting positions, three mortar systems, an ISIL headquarters, a tactical vehicle, a command and control node, a munitions production factory, and an IED factory; damaged seven ISIL supply routes; and suppressed five tactical units and three mortar teams.

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.