PRESS RELEASE | Sept. 26, 2016
September 26: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
CJTFOIR

September 26, 2016
Release # 20160926-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA – On Sept. 25, coalition military forces conducted 27 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 17 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 destroyed five ISIL oil tanker trucks and two oil well heads.
* Near Ayn Isa, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle.
* Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes destroyed nine oil well heads and an oil tanker truck.
* Near Manbij, three strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units and destroyed four fighting positions and a tank.
* Near Mar’a, three strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units and destroyed two fighting positions and a mortar system.

Iraq

* Near Al Huwayjah, two strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units.
* Near Haditha, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL-held building.
* Near Hit, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and a staging area and destroyed three ISIL-held buildings.
* Near Kisik, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle, a tunnel, and a watercraft.
* Near Mosul, four strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units; destroyed two weapon caches, two fighting positions, and two tunnels; and suppressed a mortar system.
* Near Qayyarah, four strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units and destroyed three rocket rails, three vehicles, two mortar systems, a rocket system, a fighting position, and a weapons cache.
* Near Ramadi, one strike destroyed two ISIL machine guns.
* Near Sultan Abdallah, one strike destroyed two ISIL vehicles and an ISIL-held building.
* Near Tal Afar, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle.

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.