PRESS RELEASE | Jan. 9, 2017
January 9: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
CJTFOIR

January 9, 2017
Release # 20170109-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Jan. 8, Coalition military forces conducted 34 strikes against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 23 strikes using attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted 11 strikes coordinated with and in support of the government of Iraq using attack, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft as well as rocket artillery against ISIL targets.

Syria
. Near Al Shadaddi, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a fighting position.
. Near Ar Raqqah, 15 strikes engaged five ISIL tactical units; destroyed six oil refinement stills, three supply caches, two bridges, two artillery systems, a VBIED, a bulldozer, a UAV, an IED, a dump truck, a pontoon bridge, a tank, and an armored vehicle; and damaged a supply route.
. Near Ayn Isa, one strike destroyed a repeater station.
. Near Dayr Az Zawr, five strikes destroyed eight oil pump jacks, six oil refinement stills, three excavators, and two cranes.
. Near Palmyra, one strike destroyed an ISIL-held tank.

Iraq
. Near Al Huwayjah, one strike destroyed a VBIED storage facility.
. Near Bayji, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL-held building, a VBIED, and a front-end loader.
. Near Mosul, five strikes engaged four ISIL tactical units; destroyed three ISIL-held buildings, two vehicles, two mortar systems, a rocket propelled grenade launcher, a VBIED staging facility, and a VBIED; damaged 29 supply routes; and suppressed an ISIL tactical unit and a mortar team.
. Near Rawah, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL-held building and a VBIED.
. Near Sinjar, two strikes destroyed three tunnel entrances and two ISIL fighting positions.

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.