Military Strikes Hit ISIL Terrorists in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, February 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.

Strikes in Syria

Attack, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted nine strikes in Syria:

-- Near Raqqah, a strike struck an ISIL staging area.

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

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

-- Near Manbij, four strikes struck four separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL building and two ISIL fighting positions.

-- Near Mar’a, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle and an ISIL command and control node.

Strikes in Iraq

Bomber, fighter, ground attack and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 21 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:

-- Near Fallujah, two strikes struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL mortar position.

-- Near Habbaniyah, two strikes struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL rocket position, an ISIL fighting position and an ISIL boat.

-- Near Kisik, a strike destroyed an ISIL bomb-making facility.

-- Near Mosul, five strikes struck four separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed six ISIL fighting positions, six ISIL weapon caches, three ISIL assembly areas and an ISIL vehicle.

-- Near Qayyarah, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed three ISIL rocket positions, an ISIL weapons cache and two ISIL fighting positions.

-- Near Ramadi, three strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed three ISIL staging areas, four ISIL weapon caches, an ISIL bed down location and an ISIL vehicle.

-- Near Sinjar, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units.

-- Near Sultan Abdallah, three strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed five ISIL assembly areas, an ISIL weapons cache and two ISIL command and control nodes.

-- Near Tikrit, a strike destroyed an ISIL vehicle.

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, 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.