PRESS RELEASE | Jan. 19, 2017
January 19: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
CJTFOIR

January 19, 2017
Release # 20170119-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Jan. 18, Coalition military forces conducted 26 strikes consisting of 69 engagements against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 20 strikes consisting of 24 engagements using attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted six strikes consisting of 45 engagements coordinated with and in support of the government of Iraq using attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft as well as against ISIL targets.

Syria
. Near Abu Kamal, two strikes destroyed a large oil tanker and an oil still.
. Near Al Bab, three strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two tactical vehicles and a supply cache.
. Near Al Shadaddi, one strike destroyed a VBIED.
. Near Ar Raqqah, 12 strikes engaged four ISIL tactical units, six fighting positions, a house borne IED, a tactical vehicle, a checkpoint, and two tunnels; suppressed four ISIL tactical units; and damaged a supply route.
. Near Ayn Isa, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed three fighting positions and a heavy machine gun.
. Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes destroyed 20 oil refinement stills.

Iraq
. Near Kisik, one strike suppressed an ISIL tactical unit.
. Near Mosul, four strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units, destroyed 49 watercraft, three ISIL-held buildings, four fighting positions, three mortars, three barges, two vehicles, a VBIED facility, a command and control node, and three excavators; suppressed an ISIL tactical unit; and damaged two tunnels and 12 supply routes.
. Near Sinjar, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a UAV launch site.

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.