January 18: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq

January 18, 2017
Release # 20170118-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Jan. 17, Coalition military forces conducted 23 strikes against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 17 strikes using attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted six 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, two strikes destroyed two oil well heads, an oil tanker truck, and four pieces of oil support equipment.
. Near Al Bab, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit.
. Near Ar Raqqah, 10 strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units; destroyed a VBIED, a checkpoint, a command and control node; damaged two supply routes; and suppressed an ISIL tactical unit.
. Near Ayn Isa, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a fighting position and supply cache.
. Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes destroyed eight oil stills, an oil well head and a fuel truck.

Iraq
. Near Huwayjah, one strike destroyed a weapons cache,
. Near Mosul, five strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units, destroyed three tunnel entrances, two vehicles, three VBIEDs, three barges, a watercraft, three fighting positions, three tactical vehicles, two mortars, and an artillery piece; suppressed two ISIL tactical units; and damaged a tunnel, a fighting position, and 29 supply routes.

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.