PRESS RELEASE | June 20, 2016
June 20: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
June 20, 2016

Release # 20160620-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On June 19, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 12 strikes using attack, 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 rocket artillery and bomber, attack, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets.

The following is a summary of the strikes conducted against ISIL since the last press release:

Syria
* Near Manbij, 10 strikes struck six separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed five ISIL fighting positions.
* Near Mar’a, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL fighting position and an ISIL rocket propelled grenade system.

Iraq
* Near Bayji, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL vehicle, an ISIL mortar system, an ISIL tunnel entrance, an ISIL rocket cache, and two ISIL rocket rails.
* Near Fallujah, two strikes struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed 17 ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL vehicle, five ISIL heavy machine guns, eight ISIL light machine guns, and an ISIL rocket propelled grenade system and denied ISIL access to terrain.
* Near Mosul, three strikes struck a large ISIL tactical unit and an ISIL weapons and foreign fighter support facility and destroyed an ISIL tunnel, two ISIL assembly areas, and an ISIL command and control node and suppressed an ISIL rocket firing position.
* Near Ramadi, three strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL fighting position, an ISIL vehicle, an ISIL boat, an ISIL bed down location, an ISIL weapons cache, and an ISIL staging area.
* Near Rawah, two strikes struck an ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) factory and an ISIL improvised weapons factory.

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.

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, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.