PRESS RELEASE | Aug. 1, 2016
July 31: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
July 31, 2016
Release # 20160731-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SOUTHWEST ASIA — On July 30, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 12 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 aircraft and rocket artillery against ISIL targets.
The following is a summary of the strikes conducted against ISIL since the last press release:
Syria
* Near Ar Raqqah, four strikes destroyed six ISIL excavators.
* Near Manbij, eight strikes struck eight separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed six ISIL fighting positions.
Iraq
* Near Mosul, three strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL weapons cache and an ISIL assembly area and degraded an ISIL tunnel and suppressed an ISIL mortar system.
* Near Qayyarah, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed 15 ISIL rocket rails, 13 ISIL rockets, seven ISIL mortar tubes, an ISIL mortar system, an ISIL artillery piece, and an ISIL supply cache.
* Near Sinjar, one strike suppressed an ISIL mortar system.
* Near Sultan Abdallah, one strike struck an ISIL headquarters.
* Near Haditha, one strike destroyed an ISIL cave entrance and an ISIL tunnel.
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.