PRESS RELEASE | Sept. 20, 2016
September 20: Military strikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
CJTFOIR

September 20, 2016
Release # 20160920-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA – On Sept. 19, coalition military forces conducted 29 strikes against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted nine strikes using attack, bomber, and fighter against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 20 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using attack, bomber, fighter, and remotely piloted 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 Abu Kamal, one strike destroyed an ISIL well head.
* Near Ar Raqqah, one strike destroyed an ISIL barracks.
* Near Dayr Az Zawr, three strikes destroyed seven oil tanker trucks and damaged two supply routes.
* Near Mar’a, four strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a command and control node and three IEDs.

Iraq

* Near Al Baghdadi, three strikes destroyed an ISIL bunker and two command and control nodes.
* Near Al Huwayjah, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle.
* Near Fallujah, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit.
* Near Kisik, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit.
* Near Mosul, four strikes engaged four ISIL tactical units and destroyed a vehicle.
* Near Qayyarah, four strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units and a communications facility and destroyed a vehicle, a heavy weapons system, and a checkpoint.
* Near Ramadi, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and a staging area and destroyed two heavy machine guns, a weapons cache, two command and control nodes, and two logistics hubs.
* Near Rawah, one strike destroyed an ISIL vehicle storage facility.
* Near Sinjar, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a weapons cache and suppressed a mortar position.
* Near Sultan Abdallah, one strike destroyed an ISIL mortar system and a supply cache.
* Near Tal Afar, one strike destroyed an ISIL tunnel entrance, a vehicle, a supply cache, a mortar system, a building, and nine fighting positions.

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.