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

October 9, 2016
Release # 20161009-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA – On Oct. 8, coalition military forces conducted 26 strikes against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 13 strikes using attack, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft and rocket artillery against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 13 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, one strike damaged three supply routes.
* Near Al Hawl, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a fighting position.
* Near Al Shadaddi, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a fighting position and a vehicle.
* Near Ar Raqqah, one strike destroyed an ISIL oil well head and two oil pump jacks.
* Near Ayn Isa, three strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units and destroyed two fighting positions, a mortar system, and a vehicle.
* Near Dayr Az Zawr, one strike damaged three ISIL supply routes.
* Near Mar’a, five strikes engaged five ISIL tactical units and destroyed three fighting positions and three vehicles.

Iraq
* Near Hit, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit; destroyed six ISIL-held buildings, two vehicles, and a fighting position; and damaged four ISIL-held buildings.
* Near Mosul, seven strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units, a staging area, and 10 T-wall retainers and destroyed three tunnels, two bunkers, a command and control node, a VBIED facility, a mortar position, and an ISIL-held building.
* Near Qayyarah, two strikes destroyed ten ISIL rocket rails, five rocket systems, and a vehicle.
* Near Sultan Abdallah, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL-held building, a vehicle, a command and control node, and a checkpoint.
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.