Military Strikes Hit ISIL in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, December 22, 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, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft conducted eight strikes in Syria:

-- Near Hasakah, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL building.

-- Near Hawl, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed four ISIL fighting positions.

-- Near Raqqah, a strike struck an ISIL excavator.

-- Near Mar’a, four strikes struck four separate ISIL tactical units, damaged an ISIL fighting position, wounded two ISIL fighters, and destroyed an ISIL vehicle and an ISIL fighting position.

Strikes in Iraq

Attack, fighter, bomber, and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 17 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:

-- Near Fallujah, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a bomb-making facility and wounded two ISIL fighters.

-- Near Kisik, a strike suppressed ISIL rocket fire.

-- Near Mosul, seven strikes struck six separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL building, 12 ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL heavy machine gun, two ISIL vehicles, five ISIL bunkers, and seven ISIL assembly areas.

-- Near Qayyarah, a strike destroyed an ISIL excavator.

-- Near Ramadi, six strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units, denied ISIL access to terrain, wounded two ISIL fighters and destroyed four ISIL command and control nodes, four ISIL weapons caches, two ISIL buildings, and an ISIL vehicle bomb.

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