Strikes Continue Against ISIL Terrorists in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, December 29, 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, bomber, and remotely piloted aircraft conducted nine strikes in Syria:

-- Near Hawl, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL fighting positions and an ISIL tunnel complex.

-- Near Manbij, five strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle-borne bomb, an ISIL fighting position, and cratered three ISIL-used roads.

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

Additionally, two additional strikes in Syria from Dec. 27 were not included on the Dec. 28 release:

-- Near Mar’a, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units.

Strikes in Iraq

Fighter, attack, bomber, and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 22 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:

-- Near Fallujah, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed two ISIL fighting positions, two ISIL bunkers, two ISIL tunnel entrances, an ISIL vehicle, and an ISIL trench system.

-- Near Kirkuk, one strike destroyed two ISIL excavators.

-- Near Kisik, three strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL fighting position and wounded two ISIL fighters.

-- Near Mosul, five strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed three ISIL vehicles, 14 ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL tunnel, and three ISIL command-and-control nodes.

-- Near Qayyarah, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed three ISIL fighting positions and an ISIL vehicle.

-- Near Ramadi, seven strikes struck five separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed eight ISIL fighting positions, two ISIL oil tanker trucks, three ISIL heavy machine gun positions, an ISIL vehicle, an ISIL front end loader, an ISIL vehicle-borne bomb, an ISIL sniper position, an ISIL house bomb, and denied ISIL access to terrain.

-- Near Sinjar, one strike suppressed an ISIL mortar position.

-- Near Tal Afar, one strike destroyed an ISIL-used culvert.

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 group's ability to project terror and conduct operations.

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.