PRESS RELEASE | Aug. 26, 2016
August 26: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
August 26, 2016

Release # 20160826-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA- On Aug. 25, coalition military forces conducted 17 strikes against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted nine strikes using 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 bomber, 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 Al Shadaddi, five strikes engaged five separate ISIL tactical units, destroyed five fighting positions, a tactical vehicle, and another vehicle.
* Near Manbij, four strikes engaged four separate ISIL tactical units, destroyed three fighting positions, four vehicles, an artillery system, and a weapons cache.

Iraq

* Near Kisik, one strike suppressed an ISIL mortar position.
* Near Mosul, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit, destroyed a fighting position, and suppressed a tactical unit.
* Near Qayyarah, one strike engaged an ISIL vehicle-borne improvised explosive device factory.
* Near Ramadi, three strikes destroyed an ISIL mortar position, a vehicle, and damaged a fighting position.
* Near Sinjar, one strike suppressed an ISIL rocket position.
* Near Sultan Abdallah, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle.

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.