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Press Release | Sept. 8, 2016

September 8: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq

CJTFOIR

September 8, 2016
Release # 20160908-01 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA – On Sept. 7, coalition military forces conducted 12 strikes against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted five strikes using attack, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted seven strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using rocket artillery and fighter aircraft against ISIL targets.

The following is a summary of the strikes conducted against ISIL since the last press release:

Syria

*       Near Ar Raqqah, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an oil tanker trailer, an oil workover rig, and a vehicle.
*       Near Ayn Isa, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a mortar system and a vehicle.
*       Near Dayz Az Zawr, one strike destroyed four ISIL oil tanker trucks.
*       Near Mar'a, one strike destroyed an ISIL VBIED.

Iraq

*       Near Albu Hayat, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two bunkers and two vehicles.
*       Near Haditha, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a building.
*       Near Mosul, two strikes engaged an ISIL financial center and destroyed a weapons storage facility.
*       Near Qayyarah, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle, 12 rocket rails, four rocket systems, and an assembly area.
*       Near Ramadi, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit.
*       Near Sinjar, one strike destroyed an ISIL tunnel entrance 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.

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.