U.S., Coalition Continue Counter-ISIL Strikes in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, February 15, 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 four strikes in Syria:

-- Near Raqqah, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle and an ISIL crane.

-- Near Ayn Isa, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL buildings and an ISIL fighting position.

Strikes in Iraq

Attack, ground-attack, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 14 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:

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

-- Near Fallujah, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL bunker.

-- Near Habbaniyah, a strike struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL staging area.

-- Near Kisik, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit, destroying an ISIL fighting position and an ISIL heavy machine gun and suppressing an ISIL mortar position.

-- Near Mosul, four strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position, an ISIL vehicle, an ISIL supply cache, four ISIL assembly areas and an ISIL checkpoint.

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

-- Near Samarra, a strike destroyed three ISIL tactical vehicles and an ISIL crane.

-- Near Sinjar, two strikes destroyed an ISIL fighting position and suppressed an ISIL mortar position.

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, 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, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States