Military Strikes Hit ISIL Terrorists in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, December 11, 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

Fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted four strikes in Syria:

-- Near Raqqah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle and wounded ISIL fighters.

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

Strikes in Iraq

Attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 21 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:

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

-- Near Mosul, five strikes struck five separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL checkpoint, three ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL heavy machine gun, and an ISIL vehicle.

-- Near Qayyarah, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and an ISIL vehicle bomb factory.

-- Near Ramadi, five strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL fighting position, an ISIL bed-down location, an ISIL vehicle bomb, and an ISIL staging area.

-- Near Sinjar, three strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position, an ISIL vehicle, and suppressed an ISIL sniper position.

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

-- Near Baghdadi, one strike cratered four ISIL-used roads.

-- Near Fallujah, one strike destroyed two ISIL bed down locations.

-- Near Habbaniyah, one strike cratered two ISIL-used roads.

-- Near Tikrit, one strike destroyed two ISIL bunkers.

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, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.