PRESS RELEASE | Aug. 15, 2016
August 12: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
CJTF-OIR

Southwest Asia – August 12, 2016
Release # 20160812-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Aug. 11, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted six strikes using attack, bomber, and fighter aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 12 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using rocket artillery and 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 Ar Raqqah, one strike destroyed an ISIL excavator.

* Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes destroyed eight ISIL oil tankers.

* Near Manbij, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position.

* Near Ayn Isa, one strike destroyed an ISIL mortar system.

Iraq

* Near Hit, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position.

* Near Mosul, four strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and an ISIL headquarters and destroyed two ISIL vehicles and an ISIL assembly area and suppressed an ISIL tactical unit and denied ISIL acces to terrain.

* Near Qayyarah, four strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed four ISIL-used solar panels, two ISIL-used roads, an ISIL headquarters, and an ISIL artillery system and damaged a separate ISIL headquarters.

* Near Ramadi, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed four ISIL vehicles and three ISIL rocket sytems.

* Sultan Abdallah, two strikes struck an ISIL improvised weapons cache and destroyed an ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive device storage facility.

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.