Counter-ISIL Strikes Continue in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, February 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

A fighter aircraft conducted a strike near Hasakah, which suppressed an ISIL rocket position.

Strikes in Iraq

Attack and fighter aircraft conducted nine strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:

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

-- Near Habbaniyah, a strike destroyed an ISIL vehicle bomb.

-- Near Kisik, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun and an ISIL fighting position.

-- Near Mosul, four strikes struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed five ISIL fighting positions, suppressing an ISIL rocket position and an ISIL mortar position.

-- Near Ramadi, two strikes destroyed an ISIL vehicle, an ISIL tactical vehicle, an ISIL vehicle bomb, and an ISIL anti-air artillery piece.

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 that have conducted strikes in Iraq include Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Syria include Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.