Military Strikes Target ISIL Terrorists in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, January 8, 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

Fighter and attack aircraft conducted three strikes in Syria:

-- Near Ayn Isa, two strikes destroyed three ISIL fighting positions and suppressed a separate ISIL fighting position.

-- Near Manbij, one strike destroyed three ISIL staging areas.

Strikes in Iraq

Bomber and fighter aircraft and rocket artillery conducted 23 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:

-- Near Qaim, one strike struck inoperable coalition equipment denying ISIL access in support of coalition operations.

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

-- Near Irbil, one strike suppressed an ISIL heavy machine gun position.

-- Near Kisik, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit, destroyed an ISIL fighting position and suppressed an ISIL mortar position.

-- Near Mosul, seven strikes struck four separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed six ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL tunnel, four ISIL assembly areas, an ISIL bunker and an ISIL command and control node.

-- Near Qayyarah, one strike struck an ISIL petroleum refinery.

-- Near Ramadi, six strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed 16 ISIL fighting positions, 13 ISIL heavy machine guns, an ISIL obstacle, an ISIL bomb cluster, an ISIL house bomb, 11 ISIL vehicle bomb-making facilities, three ISIL staging areas, two ISIL sniper positions, two ISIL tunnel entrances and denied ISIL access to terrain.

-- Near Sinjar, one strike suppressed an ISIL light machine gun position.

-- Near Sultan Abdallah, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed four ISIL fighting positions, four ISIL assembly areas and an ISIL command-and-control node.

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.