PRESS RELEASE | Aug. 29, 2016
August 29: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
CJTF-OIR
Southwest Asia –
August 29, 2016
Release # 20160829-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SOUTHWEST ASIA – On Aug. 28, coalition military forces conducted 15 strikes against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted two strikes using fighter aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 13 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using ground-attack, attack, bomber, and fighter 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 an ISIL wellhead.
* Near Ar Raqqah, one strike destroyed an ISIL pump jack.
Iraq
* Near Al Baghdadi, one strike destroyed four ISIL rocket systems, three rocket rails, and a building.
* Near Haditha, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle.
* Near Hit, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit.
* Near Mosul, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed three tanker trucks.
* Near Qayyarah, one strike engaged an ISIL staging area.
* Near Ramadi, one strike destroyed an ISIL mortar system.
* Near Sultan Abdallah, five strikes engaged two ISIL headquarters building and a barracks, and destroyed two rocket systems, four rocket rails, a tunnel entrance, and 11 vehicle-borne improvised explosive device factories.
* Near Tal Afar, one strike destroyed an ISIL fighting position, a mortar system, two weapons caches, and damaged three tunnel entrances.
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.