Coalition Forces Continue Strikes in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, January 16, 2016 — 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 11 strikes in Syria:

-- Near Abu Kamal, one strike struck an ISIL-used bridge.

-- Near Al Hasakah, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed two ISIL fighting positions.

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

-- Near Ayn Isa, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed two ISIL vehicles, an ISIL bed down location, and wounded an ISIL fighter.

-- Near Mar’a, five strikes struck five separate ISIL tactical units and wounded an ISIL fighter.

Strikes in Iraq

Rocket artillery and attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 18 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:

-- Near Al Huwayjah, one strike struck an ISIL headquarters.

-- Near Albu Hayat, one strike destroyed an ISIL vehicle-borne bomb.

-- Near Kisik, one strike denied ISIL access to terrain.

-- Near Mosul, eight strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL vehicle, two ISIL fighting positions, three ISIL-used culverts, 12 ISIL assembly areas, five ISIL command and control nodes, an ISIL bunker, an ISIL weapons cache, and denied ISIL access to terrain.

-- Near Ramadi, six strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL building, an ISIL vehicle-borne bomb, four ISIL staging areas, cratered two ISIL-used roads, and denied ISIL access to terrain.

-- Near Tal Afar, one strike destroyed three ISIL assembly areas and an ISIL vehicle-borne bomb. 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, the region, 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 that have conducted strikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Syria include the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.