PRESS RELEASE | Jan. 31, 2017
January 31: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
CJTFOIR

January 31, 2017
Release # 20170131-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Jan. 30, Coalition military forces conducted 22 strikes consisting of 47 engagements against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq.

In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 10 strikes consisting of 12 engagements using attack, bomber, and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets.

Syria
* Near Abu Kamal, one strike destroyed three oil wellheads.
* Near Al Bab, one strike destroyed a tunnel and damaged an ISIL headquarters.
* Near Ar Raqqah, five strikes destroyed two oil refinement stills, two oil storage tanks, an oil pump jack, a VBIED factory and destroyed an oil inlet manifold.
* Near Dayr Az Zawr, three strikes destroyed 10 oil drums, two oil storage tanks and an oil wellhead.

The Iraqi Security Forces are leading the Coalition’s fight to rid Iraq of ISIL. They are willing to take the brunt of the fighting to liberate their country and do not seek or desire the Coalition’s participation in direct ground combat operations. The Government of Iraq welcomes the Coalition because we are assisting them with our unique capabilities, at their request.

Additionally in Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted 12 strikes consisting of 35 engagements coordinated with and in support of the government of Iraq using attack, fighter, remotely piloted aircraft, and artillery against ISIL targets.

Iraq
* Near Al Asad, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit; destroyed two vehicles and damaged a supply route.
* Near Kisik, one strike destroyed a tunnel entrance.
* Near Mosul, seven strikes engaged six ISIL tactical units and an ISIL mortar team; destroyed two VBIED facilities, two ISIL-held buildings, a weapons facility, a fighting position, a VBIED, an ISIL headquarters, a tunnel, a tactical vehicle, a mortar system and a weapons cache; damaged three supply routes and suppressed a mortar team.
* Near Rawah, one strike destroyed a front-end loader.
* Near Tal Afar, one strike destroyed an ISIL headquarters.

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.