PRESS RELEASE | Nov. 16, 2016
November 16: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
CJTFOIR

November 16, 2016
Release # 20161116-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Nov. 15, Coalition military forces conducted 22 strikes against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 10 strikes using attack, bomber, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted 12 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using fighter, remotely piloted aircraft, rocket artillery against ISIL targets.

Syria

* Near Abu Kamal, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit; damaged a supply route; and destroyed a vehicle.
* Near Al Shadaddi, two strikes damaged two ISIL supply routes.
* Near Ayn Isa, four strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units, and damaged two fighting positions, a vehicle, and a supply route.
* Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes destroyed six oil tanker trucks and three oil well heads.

Iraq

* Near Al Huwayjah, one strike destroyed an anti-aircraft artillery system.
* Near Haditha, two strikes destroyed three bunkers.
* Near Mosul, eight strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units; destroyed three VBIEDs, three mortar systems, two vehicles, two ISIL-held buildings, a weapons cache, an anti-aircraft artillery system, a front-end loader, a VBIED facility, and a command and control node; damaged a supply route and two tunnels; and suppressed a tank.
* Near Rawah, one strike destroyed an ISIL armored personnel carrier.

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.