PRESS RELEASE | Jan. 3, 2017
January 3: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
CJTFOIR

January 3, 2017
Release # 20170103-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Jan. 2, Coalition military forces conducted 24 strikes against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 14 strikes using attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft as well as rocket artillery against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted 10 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 three oil well heads.
. Near Al Shadaddi, four strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL-held building, a fighting position, a weapons cache, a VBIED, and a VBIED storage facility.
. Near Ar Raqqah, five strikes engaged four ISIL tactical units and destroyed two fighting positions, a weapons cache, and an ISIL-held building.
. Near Ayn Isa, one strike destroyed a VBIED.
. Near Dayr Az Zawr, one strike destroyed four oil refinement tanks and an oil tanker truck.
. Near Manbij, two strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units and destroyed two fighting positions.

Iraq
. Near Al Huwayjah, three strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a weapons cache, a piece of engineering equipment and an improvised weapons factory.
. Near Al Qaim, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a checkpoint.
. Near Bayji, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed three tactical vehicles, an ISIL-held building, and an armored front-end loader.
. Near Haditha, one strike destroyed an ISIL-held building, a heavy machine gun, and a mortar system.
. Near Mosul, three strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units; destroyed three buildings, a heavy machine gun, two mortars, a piece of engineering equipment, a VBIED, and a front-end loader; damaged 17 supply routes; and suppressed four mortar teams.
. Near Rawah, one strike destroyed a VBIED 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. 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.