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Press Release | Jan. 7, 2017

January 7: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq

CJTFOIR

January 7, 2017
Release # 20170107-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Jan. 6, Coalition military forces conducted 38 strikes against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 27 strikes using attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted 11 strikes coordinated with and in support of the government of Iraq using attack, bomber, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft as well as rocket artillery against ISIL targets.

Syria
*       Near Abu Kamal, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle.
*       Near Ar Raqqah, 12 strikes engaged eight ISIL tactical units; destroyed 14 oil refinement tanks, seven fighting positions, a VBIED facility, a VBIED, an ISIL-held building, an artillery system, and a bunker system; and damaged two supply routes.
*       Near Ayn Isa, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a fighting position and an artillery system.
*       Near Dayr Az Zawr, nine strikes destroyed 18 oil refinement stills, 15 oil pump jacks, and an oil well head.
*       Near Idlib, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit.
*       Near Manbij, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a command and control node.

Iraq
*       Near Al Huwayjah, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed four vehicles, two mortar systems, and a watercraft.
*       Near Haditha, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL-held building and a weapons cache.
*       Near Mosul, six strikes engaged five ISIL tactical units; destroyed six fighting positions, two VBIEDs, two ISIL-held buildings, two heavy machine guns, two weapons caches, an IED, a mortar   system, a homemade explosives facility, an ISIL headquarters building, a supply cache, and a mobile artillery   system; damaged 21 supply routes; and suppressed five tactical units.
*       Near Rawah, one strike destroyed an ISIL-held building.
*       Near Tal Afar, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit; destroyed three vehicles, an armored vehicle, and a VBIED; and suppressed a mortar position.

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.