PRESS RELEASE | Nov. 15, 2016
November 15: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
CJTFOIR

November 15, 2016
Release # 20161115-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Nov. 14, Coalition military forces conducted 20 strikes against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 11 strikes using attack, bomber, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted nine strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using attack, fighter, bomber, rocket artillery, and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets.

Syria

* Near Ar Raqqah, two strikes destroyed an ISIL vehicle.
* Near Ayn Isa, five strikes engaged five ISIL tactical units and destroyed two fighting positions.
* Near Dayr Az Zawr, three strikes damaged an ISIL supply route and destroyed three oil well heads.
* Near Manbij, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit.

Iraq

* Near Baghdad, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit.
* Near Haditha, one strike destroyed an ISIL mortar system.
* Near Mosul, six strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units and a staging area; destroyed five storage containers, five mortar systems, two vehicles, a VBIED, and a weapons cache; damaged five tunnels; and suppressed two ISIL tactical units.
* Near Qayyarah, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a mortar system and an ISIL-held building.
* Near Rawah, one strike destroyed an ISIL bunker.

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.