PRESS RELEASE | Aug. 22, 2016
August 22: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
CJTF-OIR
Southwest Asia – August 22, 2016
Release # 20160822-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Aug. 21st, Coalition military forces conducted 18 strikes against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 10 strikes using ground-attack, 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 rocket artillery and bomber, 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 Ar Raqqah, one strike struck an ISIL weapons facility.
* Near Ayn Isa, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a fighting position.
* Near Dayr Az Zawr, one strike struck seven ISIL wellheads and a crude oil collection point.
* Near Manbij, six strikes struck five separate ISIL tactical units, destroyed a fighting position, one tactical vehicle, and an anti-air artillery system.
* Near Tamakh, one strike destroyed an ISIL tank.
Iraq
* Near Bashir, one strike destroyed an ISIL checkpoint.
* Near Haditha, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a fighting position.
* Near Mosul, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit, destroyed three vehicles and a mortar position.
* Near Qayyarah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit, destroyed a mortar system, a vehicle, five assembly areas, a supply cache, a front-end loader and denied access to terrain.
* Near Ramadi, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit, a vehicle, a boat and damaged a fighting position.
* Near Sultan Abdallah, one strike struck an ISIL security headquarters.
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.