PRESS RELEASE | Nov. 8, 2016
November 8: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
CJTFOIR

November 8, 2016
Release # 20161108-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Nov. 7, Coalition military forces conducted 27 strikes against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 17 strikes using attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted 10 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using attack, fighter, rotary, and remotely piloted aircraft and rocket artillery against ISIL targets.

Syria

* Near Ayn Isa, 15 strikes engaged seven ISIL tactical units, destroyed five fighting positions, three vehicles, two bridges, an artillery system, and damaged three supply routes.
* Near Mar’a, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a VBIED.
* Near Palmyra, one strike engaged two ISIL tactical units, destroyed a vehicle, and damaged a fighting position.

Iraq

* Near Bayji, one strike destroyed an ISIL rocket rail, a generator, and a bulldozer.
* Near Mosul, five strikes engaged five ISIL tactical units and a staging area; destroyed six fighting positions, six mortar systems, four VBIEDs, two vehicles, two rocket systems, two ISIL-held buildings, a command and control node; suppressed a heavy machine gun, a sniper position, a rocket system; damaged an ISIL vehicle; and degraded three tunnels.
* Near Rawah, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL-held building.
* Near Sinjar, one strike engaged an ISIL weapons production facility.
* Near Taji, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit.
* Near Tal Afar, one strike engaged an ISIL VBIED factory.

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. The information used to compile the daily strike releases is based on ‘Z’ or Greenwich Mean Time.

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.