Military Strikes Strike ISIL Terrorists in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, December 6, 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 12 strikes in Syria:

-- Near Mar’a, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL vehicles and an ISIL building.

-- Near Ayn Isa, four strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL excavator, an ISIL tactical vehicle, and an ISIL building.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, five strikes destroyed five ISIL oil wellheads.

-- Near Raqqah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and wounded an ISIL fighter.

Strikes in Iraq

Attack, bomber and fighter aircraft conducted 17 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:

-- Near Huwayjah, three strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed two ISIL vehicles and an ISIL tunnel.

-- Near Albu Hayat, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and suppressed an ISIL rocket rail.

-- Near Mosul, four strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL mortar tube, an ISIL fighting position, an ISIL command and control node, an ISIL excavator, an ISIL heavy machine gun, and suppressed a separate ISIL heavy machine gun position.

-- Near Ramadi, six strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL sniper position, an ISIL vehicle bomb facility, four ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL heavy machine gun, three ISIL buildings, four ISIL command and control nodes, three ISIL staging areas, two ISIL weapons caches, damaged an ISIL fighting position, and denied ISIL access to terrain.

-- Near Sinjar, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed three ISIL fighting positions and two ISIL heavy machine guns.

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