PRESS RELEASE | Aug. 22, 2016
August 21: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
CJTF-OIR

Southwest Asia – August 21, 2016
Release # 20160821-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Aug. 20th, Coalition military forces conducted 23 strikes against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 15 strikes using bomber, ground-attack, attack, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted eight strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using attack, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft 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 struck three ISIL wellheads and a crude oil collection point.
* Near Dayr Az Zawr, three strikes struck three ISIL wellheads and three crude oil collection points and destroyed a pump jack.
* Near Manbij, nine strikes struck eight separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed two fighting positions, a vehicle, an artillery system, a supply cache, and a rocket launcher.
* Near Mar’a, one strike destroyed an ISIL fighting position and five improvised explosive devices and damaged two fighting positions.
* Near Tamakh, one strike destroyed an ISIL vehicle and a tactical vehicle.

Iraq

* Near Bashir, one strike suppressed an ISIL tactical unit.
* Near Hit, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a fighting position.
* Near Mosul, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed a fighting position and a vehicle.
* Near Qayyarah, one strike destroyed two ISIL fighting positions, two rocket rails, two rocket systems, and two vehicle-borne improvised explosive device storage facilities and denied access to terrain.
* Near Ramadi, one strike destroyed two ISIL vehicles.
* Near Tal Afar, two strikes destroyed an ISIL vehicle checkpoint and a vehicle and suppressed two mortar 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.