PRESS RELEASE | Oct. 9, 2016
October 7: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
CJTFOIR

October 7, 2016
Release # 20161007-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA – On Oct. 6, coalition military forces conducted 24 strikes against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted nine strikes using attack, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 15 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using attack, 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, two strikes destroyed eight ISIL oil tanker trucks, two oil tanker truck trailers, and two oil well heads.
* Near Al Shadaddi, five strikes engaged four ISIL tactical units and destroyed three vehicles, a fighting position, and inoperable coalition equipment.
* Near Ayn Isa, one strike destroyed an ISIL VBIED facility.
* Near Mar’a, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit.

Iraq
* Near Al Qaim, one strike destroyed an ISIL homemade explosives cache.
* Near Bayji, one strike destroyed an ISIL bunker, a mortar system, and an anti-air artillery system.
* Near Hit, four strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units and two staging areas and destroyed four ISIL-held buildings, two supply caches, two vehicles, a homemade explosives cache, and an artillery system.
* Near Kisik, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit; destroyed three weapons caches and a mortar system; and damaged a tunnel.
* Near Mosul, six strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units, a staging area and destroyed a tunnel, a vehicle, a VBIED factory, a weapons factory, and an ISIL-held building.
* Near Qayyarah, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL-held building and a mortar system.

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.