PRESS RELEASE | Oct. 31, 2016
October 31: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
CJTFOIR
October 31, 2016
Release # 20161031-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SOUTHWEST ASIA – On Oct. 30, 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 supply route.
• Near Al Shadaddi, four strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units; destroyed two fighting positions, two vehicles, and a command and control node; and suppressed a tactical unit.
• Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes destroyed an ISIL oil drilling rig and an oil well head.
Iraq
• Near Bayji, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle.
• Near Kisik, two strikes destroyed an ISIL checkpoint and a tunnel entrance, and suppressed a tactical unit.
• Near Mosul, three strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit; destroyed three fighting positions, three ISIL-held buildings, two tunnel entrances, two mortar systems, a vehicle, an artillery system, and a forklift; damaged three fighting positions; and suppressed a mortar system and a tactical unit.
• Near Rawah, one strike destroyed an ISIL excavator and an oil tanker.
• Near Sultan Abdallah, one strike destroyed an ISIL VBIED.
• Near Tal Afar, one strike destroyed an ISIL 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.