PRESS RELEASE | June 16, 2016
June 16: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
June 16, 2016
Release # 20160616-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SOUTHWEST ASIA — On June 15, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted seven strikes using bomber, attack, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 20 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using rocket artillery and bomber, ground-attack, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets.
The following is a summary of the strikes conducted against ISIL since the last press release:
Syria
* Near Abu Kamal, one strike destroyed four ISIL oil well heads.
* Near Manbij, six strikes struck five separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed three ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL vehicle, and six ISIL command and control nodes.
Iraq
* Near Al Baghdadi, two strikes destroyed an ISIL bunker and suppressed an ISIL tactical unit.
* Near Al Huwayjah, one strike struck an ISIL oil compound.
* Near Bayji, one strike destroyed an ISIL mortar system.
* Near Fallujah, three strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed 10 ISIL fighting positions, two ISIL heavy machine guns, an ISIL light machine gun, an ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), two ISIL rocket propelled grenade systems, and an ISIL recoilless rifle and denied ISIL access to terrain.
* Near Haditha, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.
* Near Kisik, one strike struck an ISIL foreign fighter weapons storage facility.
* Near Mosul, three strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed two ISIL vehicles.
* Near Qayyarah, five strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and an ISIL VBIED facility and destroyed four ISIL assembly areas, two ISIL mortar systems, five ISIL vehicles, two ISIL tunnel systems, two ISIL bunkers, and an ISIL command and control node.
* Near Ramadi, one strike struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position, an ISIL staging area, an ISIL weapons cache, an ISIL rocket propelled grenade system, and an ISIL light machine gun.
* Near Sultan Abdallah, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed eight ISIL rocket systems and an ISIL assembly area and suppressed a separate ISIL tactical unit.
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, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.