Military Strikes Target ISIL Terrorists in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, December 14, 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 three strikes in Syria:

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, a strike struck an ISIL gas and oil separation plant.

-- Near Manbij, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.

-- Near Mar’a, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and damaged an ISIL staging area.

Strikes in Iraq

Bomber and fighter aircraft conducted 13 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:

-- Near Huwayjah, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL mortar position.

-- Near Kisik, three strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed three vehicle bombs, two ISIL improvised bombs, five ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL heavy machine gun, and an ISIL light machine gun.

-- Near Mosul, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL mortar tube.

-- Near Ramadi, three strikes struck three ISIL staging areas, denied ISIL access to terrain, and destroyed an ISIL bed down location, two ISIL staging areas, and an ISIL command and control node.

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

-- Near Tikrit, a strike destroyed two ISIL oil tanks.

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, 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.