PRESS RELEASE | Oct. 30, 2016
October 30: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
CJTFOIR

October 30, 2016
Release # 20161030-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA – On Oct. 29, Coalition military forces conducted 16 strikes against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted seven strikes using attack, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted nine strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using attack, bomber, fighter and 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 Abu Kamal, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and four supply routes and damaged a vehicle.
* Near Ayn Isa, four strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units and destroyed a heavy machine gun, a fighting position, a vehicle, and an anti-aircraft weapon system.
* Near Manbij, one strike produced inconclusive results.
* Near Mar’a, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit.

Iraq

* Near Haditha, one strike destroyed a VBIED.
* Near Mosul, four strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit; destroyed five fighting positions, three mortar systems, two ISIL-held buildings, two vehicles, a weapons storage facility, a command and control node, a tunnel entrance, a front-end loader, and an artillery system; damaged two fighting positions; and suppressed two tactical units and a heavy machine gun.
* Near Rawah, three strikes destroyed three ISIL storage containers, a bunker, and a supply cache and damaged an excavator.
* Near Sultan Abdallah, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL-held buildings, two vehicles, a VBIED and a heavy machine gun.

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.