PRESS RELEASE | Sept. 10, 2016
September 10: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
CJTFOIR

September 10, 2016
Release # 20160910-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA – On Sept. 9, coalition military forces conducted 16 strikes against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 10 strikes using attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted six strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using fighter and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets.

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

Syria

* Near Al Shadadi, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed three fighting positions.
* Near Ar Raqqah, four strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed 16 oil tanker trucks, four tanker trailers, seven pump jacks, an oil workover rig, and a wellhead.
* Near Dayz Az Zawr, four strikes engaged four ISIL supply routes.
* Near Mar’a, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a fighting postion and a mortar system.
Iraq

* Near Al Qaim, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed three vehicles, two buildings, a cargo container, and a tractor-trailor.
* Near Hit, one strike destroyed an ISIL vehicle.
* Near Mosul, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an assembly area, a vehicle, two mortar systems, a weapons cache, a tunnel entrance, six rocket rails, and suppressed a mortar system.
* Near Ramadi, one strike destroyed three ISIL vehicles and an anti-air artillery system, and suppressed two mortar systems.
* Near Sinjar, two strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units; destroyed a tunnel, two assembly areas, a mortar system, and a fighting position; and suppressed a mortar position.

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.

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.