Military Strikes Hit ISIL Terrorists in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, December 7, 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 nine strikes in Syria:

-- Near Hawl, four strikes struck four separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed nine ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL vehicle bomb, and three ISIL vehicles.

-- Near Dayr Ar Zawr, four strikes struck four ISIL oil wellheads.

-- Near Mar’a, a strike damaged an ISIL artillery piece.

Strikes in Iraq

Attack, bomber and fighter aircraft conducted 11 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:

-- Near Kisik, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit , destroyed an ISIL fighting position and suppressed an ISIL heavy machine gun.

-- Near Mosul, a strike destroyed two ISIL fighting positions.

-- Near Ramadi, seven strikes struck four separate ISIL tactical units, wounded five ISIL fighters, denied ISIL access to terrain, and destroyed 13 ISIL buildings, nine ISIL fighting positions, six ISIL heavy machine guns, three ISIL staging areas, two ISIL house bombs, an ISIL vehicle, an ISIL tunnel, an ISIL bomb, and an ISIL assembly area.

-- Near Tal Afar, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.

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