Coalition Conducts 22 Strikes Against ISIL in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, December 13, 2015 — U.S. and coalition military forces have continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Officials reported details of the latest strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

Attack and remotely piloted aircraft conducted seven strikes in Syria:

-- Near Abu Kamal, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.

-- Near Ar Raqqah, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed two ISIL vehicles and wounded two ISIL fighters.

-- Near Ayn Isa, one strike struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed seven ISIL buildings.

-- Near Manbij, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position.

-- Near Mar’a, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL staging area and damaged two others.

Strikes in Iraq

Attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 15 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:

-- Near Fallujah, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL vehicle bomb facilities, two ISIL staging locations, and five ISIL buildings.

-- Near Mosul, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL bunker.

-- Near Qayyarah, two strikes destroyed two ISIL vehicle bomb facilities.

-- Near Ramadi, six strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL vehicle, two ISIL command and control nodes, an ISIL assembly area, two ISIL fighting positions, and denied ISIL access to terrain.

-- Near Rawah, one strike struck an ISIL vehicle bomb facility.

-- Near Sinjar, one strike destroyed an ISIL checkpoint.

-- Near Sultan Abdallah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle and four ISIL fighting positions.

-- Near Tal Afar, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.

Task force officials define a strike as one or more kinetic events that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single, sometimes cumulative, effect. Therefore, officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIL vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against buildings, vehicles and weapon systems in a compound, for example, having the cumulative effect of making those targets harder or impossible for ISIL to use. Accordingly, officials said, they do 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.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

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, the region, and the wider international community. The destruction of ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the terrorist group's ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said.

Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Syria include the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.