Military Strikes Hit ISIL in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, January 29, 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 10 strikes in Syria:

-- Near Hasakah, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and suppressed an ISIL checkpoint.

-- Near Raqqah, a strike struck an ISIL gas and oil separation plant.

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

-- Near Mar’a, five strikes struck four separate ISIL tactical units, disabled an ISIL vehicle and destroyed two ISIL fighting positions.

-- Near Palmyra, a strike struck an ISIL improvised explosives manufacturing area.

Strikes in Iraq

Coalition forces used rocket artillery and fighter-attack, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft to conduct 14 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:

-- Near Asad, two strikes struck an ISIL staging area and destroyed an ISIL building.

-- Near Huwayjah, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.

-- Near Habbaniyah, a strike destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun and an ISIL vehicle.

-- Near Mosul, three strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and an ISIL communications facility.

-- Near Ramadi, five strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit, cratered two ISIL-used roads, denied ISIL access to terrain, and destroyed an ISIL vehicle, an ISIL vehicle bomb, an ISIL tactical vehicle and an ISIL bunker.

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

-- Near Hit, a strike damaged an ISIL-used bridge.

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, 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 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.