PRESS RELEASE | Jan. 21, 2017
January 21: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
CJTFOIR

January 21, 2017
Release # 2017021-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Jan. 20, Coalition military forces conducted 26 strikes consisting of 49 engagements against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 22 strikes consisting of 28 engagements using attack, bomber and fighter aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted four strikes consisting of 21 engagements coordinated with and in support of the government of Iraq using attack, bomber, fighter and rotary aircraft against ISIL targets.

Syria
* Near Abu Kamal, two strikes destroyed two oil well heads.
* Near Ar Raqqah, 16 strikes engaged six ISIL tactical units; destroyed six fighting positions, two supply caches, an oil well head, and a mortar system; damaged two supply routes; and suppressed five ISIL tactical units.
* Near At Tanf, one strike destroyed two fighting positions.
* Near Dayr Az Zawr, three strikes destroyed two oil refinement stills, an oil well head and an oil storage tank.

Iraq
* Near Kirkuk, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL-held building and a supply cache.
* Near Kisik, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and damaged two vehicles.
* Near Mosul, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit; destroyed 29 watercraft, three fighting positions, two vehicles, a mortar system, a light machine gun, and an anti-air artillery system; and damaged eight supply routes.

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.