PRESS RELEASE | Jan. 2, 2017
January 2: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
CJTFOIR

January 2, 2017
Release # 20170102-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Jan. 1, Coalition military forces conducted 26 strikes against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 17 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, bomber, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft as well as rocket artillery against ISIL targets.

Syria
. Near Abu Kamal, one strike destroyed an oil well head and a crane.
. Near Ar Raqqah, 12 strikes engaged five ISIL tactical units; destroyed six fighting positions, two oil storage tanks, and an ISIL checkpoint; damaged five supply routes, a bridge, and a trench.
. Near Ayn Isa, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a mortar system.
. Near Dayr Az Zawr, one strike destroyed an oil well head, a drilling truck, a dump truck, and two oil tanker trucks.
. Near Idlib, two strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units and destroyed two tactical vehicles.

Iraq
. Near Haditha, one strike destroyed an ISIL bunker.
. Near Kisik, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an observation post and a weapons cache.
. Near Mosul, six strikes engaged four ISIL tactical units; destroyed four mortars, five VBIEDs, a heavy machine gun, a vehicle, an ISIL-held building, a pontoon bridge, and three VBIED factories; disabled two bridges; damaged 31 supply routes; and suppressed six mortar teams.
. Near Rawah, one strike destroyed two weapons storage facilities.

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.