Military Strikes Hit ISIL Terrorists in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, January 5, 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.

Strike in Syria

Fighter aircraft conducted a strike near Ayn Isa, destroying three ISIL fighting positions.

Strikes in Iraq

Coalition military forces using rocket artillery and fighter aircraft conducted 19 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:

-- Near Ramadi, two strikes denied ISIL access to terrain.

-- Near Haditha, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units, wounded two ISIL fighters, and destroyed an ISIL mortar position, three ISIL fighting positions, four ISIL vehicles and two ISIL heavy machine guns.

-- Near Kisik, four strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit, suppressed an ISIL mortar position, and destroyed an ISIL fighting position, six ISIL bunkers, two ISIL-used culverts, an ISIL assembly area and an ISIL weapons cache.

-- Near Mosul, six strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit, suppressed three separate ISIL mortar positions and destroyed 10 ISIL fighting positions, two ISIL mortar positions, five ISIL assembly areas and an ISIL heavy machine gun.

-- Near Sinjar, three strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed 11 ISIL assembly areas, three ISIL weapon caches, an ISIL command-and-control node, nine ISIL fighting positions and two ISIL mortar positions.

-- Near Sultan Abdallah, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed two ISIL fighting positions.

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.