PRESS RELEASE | Oct. 21, 2016
October 21: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
CJTFOIR

October 21, 2016
Release # 20161021-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA – On Oct. 20, Coalition military forces conducted 20 strikes against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 13 strikes using attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted seven strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using attack, bomber, fighter, remotely piloted aircraft and rocket artillery against ISIL targets.

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

Syria

* Near Al Shadaddi, three strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units and destroyed two fighting positions, a mortar system, and a vehicle.
* Near Ar Raqqah, two strikes engaged an ISIL supply route and destroyed an oil well head, an oil collection tank, and an oil pump jack.
* Near Ayn Isa, one strike engaged an ISIL headquarters building.
* Near Manbij, six strikes engaged four ISIL tactical units and destroyed three fighting positions, two vehicles, and a VBIED.
* Near Mar’a, one strike destroyed an artillery system.

Iraq

* Near Mosul, four strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units and two staging areas; destroyed an ISIL headquarters building, 23 fighting positions, eight ISIL VBIEDs, six ISIL-held buildings, six vehicles, five mortar systems, three heavy machine guns, a tanker truck, and a command and control node; damaged a VBIED; suppressed nine heavy machine gun positions, five sniper positions, four mortar positions, an artillery system position and 11 ISIL tactical units.
* Near Rawah, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit.
* Near Sultan Abdallah, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a VBIED, a vehicle and an ISIL-held building.
* Near Tal Afar, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two checkpoints.

Strike assessments are based on initial reports. All aircraft returned to base safely.

Combined theater total engagements: 20

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.