PRESS RELEASE | Nov. 24, 2016
November 24: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
CJTFOIR

November 24, 2016
Release # 20161124-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Nov. 23, Coalition military forces conducted 21 strikes against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 12 strikes using attack, bomber, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft, and rocket artillery against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted nine strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using attack, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft, and rocket artillery against ISIL targets.

Syria
* Near Abu Kamal, one strike destroyed an oil pump jack.
* Near Al Shadaddi, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a VBIED.
* Near Ar Raqqah, four strikes engaged two ISIL headquarters buildings; and destroyed eight oil storage tanks, five oil tanker trucks, and an oil refinement system.
* Near Ayn Isa, one strike destroyed a vehicle storage facility.
* Near Dayr Az Zawr, one strike engaged an ISIL headquarters building.
* Near Manbij, three strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle, a fighting position, and an ammunition depot.

Iraq
* Near Bayji, one strike destroyed a mortar position.
* Near Haditha, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit area and destroyed a heavy machine gun.
* Near Mosul, six strikes engaged four ISIL tactical units and a sniper position; destroyed six mortar systems, three vehicles, two heavy machine guns, two VBIEDs, and two command and control nodes; damaged four supply routes and two bridges; and suppressed a tactical unit and a mortar system.
* Near Rawah, one strike destroyed a VBIED 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. 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.