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

January 12, 2017
Release # 20170112-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Jan. 11, Coalition military forces conducted 17 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 eight strikes coordinated with and in support of the government of Iraq using attack, bomber, and fighter aircraft as well as rocket artillery against ISIL targets.

Syria
. Near Ar Raqqah, six strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit; destroyed two tunnels, two fighting positions, a tactical vehicle, and a front-end loader; and damaged three supply routes.
. Near Dayr Az Zayr, three strikes destroyed three oil tanker trucks, two oil pump jacks, and an oil well head.

Iraq
. Near Al Huwayjah, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed three ISIL-held buildings and a command and control node.
. Near Bayji, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle.
. Near Mosul, five strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units; destroyed three fighting positions, three ISIL-held buildings, two heavy machine guns, two mortar systems, a command and control node, a VBIED factory, a VBIED, an ISIL UAV, a supply cache, and an artillery system; and damaged 24 supply routes and an ISIL-held 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.